Crazy Diamond
by somewhereinthedreams
Summary: Mike headed back to the table, nervously palming an engagement ring in his hand. He hadn't felt this nervous undercover in a long time. He almost wished someone was holding a gun to his head. That seemed like more familiar territory than proposing to his ex-girlfriend.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Set about 2 years after Season 1...so it's 2015 but a different timeline. Last fic of the ficathon. Today!**

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking?" Paige demanded, pulling off the engagement ring Mike slipped on her earlier that evening and throwing it at him.

Paige was pissed. Beyond pissed. She hadn't said a word to him after they left the restaurant. If he hadn't been undercover, there was a good chance she would've left him there, despite the fact that they had taken his car.

Mike picked up the ring and put it in his pocket, "Paige, I'm sorry. Everything happened so fast. Assif caught me in his office," Mike began.

Marcus Assif, the arms dealer turned diamond smuggler that fancied himself a restaurateur. He had been undercover with him for the past six weeks trying to get more information about his diamond smuggling operation. Briggs was working the arms dealing angle and he was focusing on the diamonds.

"So you thought what exactly? That you'd use this as an opportunity to propose? Are you insane?" Paige kicked off her heels and threw them at him, one by one.

Mike ducked and caught one stiletto while the other hit the wall behind him. He set her shoe down on the floor and offered a sheepish grin, but the death glare Paige was directing at him let him know that flashing a smile was not going to get him out of the mess he created. "He caught me in his office and - "

"You said that already," Paige snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. The hostile look in her eyes let him know that she wanted answers. Now.

Even when she was furious, Paige was beautiful. Her green eyes were alive and passionate. Her face was slightly flushed. Breathtaking didn't even begin to describe how gorgeous she looked tonight. Her dark blonde hair was styled into loose, disheveled curls framing her face. She was wearing a form fitting black lacy dress, with a high slit. He wanted to grab her and kiss her to make her shut up even though that might get him shot. But right now, it seemed worth the risk and he was seriously considering it. Because at the very least, it would stop this argument.

"I needed to come up with an excuse - "

"And the best thing you could come up with was a proposal?"

"Assif's an old romantic. I overheard him mention that his favorite movie is The Notebook."

"First Bello with Westerns and now a diamond smuggler that likes love stories? Where do you find these guys? What's next, a drug kingpin with a weakness for Disney movies?"

Mike rolled his eyes, ignoring her question. "Assif caught me in his office and I started rambling on about needing to speak with him privately, because I was having money issues and wanted some more responsibility." It was always a delicate subject to ask a criminal for a raise. They typically paid well and the last thing you wanted to do was insult someone that could easily kill you if they felt insulted. "I spun this sob story about how my sister lost her job and she has three kids, so I had been helping her out financially. He said we could talk more and that I should get back to my date. I wanted to appeal to his romantic side, so I told him it was our anniversary and that I had originally wanted to propose tonight, but then everything happened with my sister and before I knew what was happening, he opened his wall safe and pulled out a tray of rings."

"He has the diamonds in his office?" Paige excitedly asked, forgetting her anger for the moment and showing an interest in his case.

"Yeah, dozens of rings. He told me to take one."

 _"That is something I can help you with," Assif said, moving the painting aside. He blocked Mike's view from the security pad and typed in a few numbers to unlock the safe. He pulled out an attache case and opened it, setting it down on the desk. "Pick a ring."_

 _"Sir, I can't. I just started working for you. With everything going on with my sister right now, I can't afford - "_

 _Assif waved his hand at him, motioning for him to stop talking. "Consider it a bonus. You're a hard worker and it's important when you find the right person, not to let them go. It's your anniversary, make it special."_

 _Mike looked down at the rings, his eyes immediately drawn to the one ring in a vintage setting. He really couldn't tell one diamond from the next, but he was sure it was flawless. He thumbed the ring for a few seconds, knowing that Paige would love it. She liked gaudy and flashy things, but a ten carat diamond was not something she would want. Something simple wasn't her style either. But this ring was perfect. Almost too perfect._

They had broken up almost eight months ago after dating for about a year. Things had gotten really serious, really fast and both of them were a little freaked out with how serious things got. They needed to slow things down and somehow that led to a breakup. An awkward one because they still lived together at Graceland. Even more awkward because they still had feelings for each other.

He still loved Paige, but he wasn't in love with her. He wasn't entirely sure how she felt about him. As far as he knew, she wasn't dating. He hadn't been with anyone since her and was afraid to ask if she had.

"And for some idiotic reason you thought it would just be a good idea to propose? If Charlie had come with you as planned, would that have still been your plan?" Paige suspiciously asked.

"I don't know." Probably not. He probably would've come up with some other cover story.

 _Mike headed back to the table, nervously palming an engagement ring in his hand. He hadn't felt this nervous undercover in a long time. He almost wished someone was holding a gun to his head. That seemed like more familiar territory than proposing to his ex-girlfriend._

 _He must've been gone longer than he thought. Paige was happily snacking on his appetizer, and hers appeared to be long gone._

 _"Did you see anything?"_

 _Mike's eyes nervously darted across the restaurant and Assif gave him an encouraging nod. Instead of sitting down, he walked over to her and brushed his lips across her cheek. "Just roll with me on this. I'm sorry." Mike reached for her hand and kissed it, before kneeling before her._

"What you said to me, how could you?" Paige whispered, tears shimmering in her eyes, her anger giving way to the vulnerability she rarely showed.

Taking a chance, Mike walked towards her and brushed away the stray tear that streamed down her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean - "

"You didn't mean what you said?" Paige quietly asked, a hint of insecurity flashing through her eyes as she placed her hand over his.

 _Mike looked up at Paige, trying to read her eyes. She looked confused. And pissed. He was positive the only reason she hadn't bolted was that Assif was watching them from the bar. "I - the first time I saw you, you were singing karaoke. You were wearing this purple dress and were - are, the most beautiful woman, I've ever seen. I'm not sure when I fell in love with you, it was probably that night, but I can't imagine my life without you."_

 _"Mike..."_

 _Presenting the ring to her, he started sliding it on her ring finger, "Will you marry me?"_

 _By now, Paige was well aware of the fact that his boss was watching them and this was part of his cover, so she nodded and he slipped the ring on her ring finger. Paige smiled brightly as Mike stood, pulling her to her feet. "Get me out of here before I kill you," Paige furiously whispered, digging her nails into his neck to emphasize her point. She pulled back, laughing as he captured her lips in a celebratory kiss._

"I meant every word," Mike murmured. That was the problem. He thought he was over her. But he wasn't. He was still in love with her.

Fuck.

"It felt too real," Paige confessed.

"I'm sorry." He hadn't meant for this to happen. Everything happened so quickly and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. Paige started crying and he pulled her in his arms to comfort her. "I'll figure something else out with the case." He could tell Assif his fiancée had to go home to take care of her sick mother or that she had a change of heart in the morning.

"Don't." Paige pulled back to look up at him. She met his eyes for a few seconds and before he realized what was happening, she was kissing him.

The second their lips made contact, it was as if a flame was reignited between them. This wouldn't change anything between them, they were still in the same place, but he wanted her. He had never stopped wanting her. Mike started pushing up her dress as she fumbled with his belt.

He should probably stop before things went too far. There were so many reasons why things didn't work out between them. But even after eight months of being apart, he was finally starting to realize that he would never be over her.

Mike groaned as she bit his lip, and he kissed her harder, backing her up against the wall. He continued his assault on her neck as his hand wandered underneath her dress, trying to push aside the scrap of lace that passed for underwear. Paige wrapped a leg around him, and he slipped his fingers inside her. He furiously stroked her to a quick release as she trembled in his arms. Paige's body went slack against him and he kissed her again and again, "I want you," he whispered into her ear. "I never stopped wanting you."

Paige wrapped her arms around him, moaning softly he lifted her up, wrapping her legs around his waist. Taking advantage of his position, Mike rocked his body forward as he settled his lips on her neck.

"Mike...upstairs..."

Right, they were downstairs. Anyone could walk in on them at any second. He didn't even know if anyone was home. Wasn't sure he cared. Not wanting to chance that one of them would change their minds, he was unwilling to put her down for even a second. Wouldn't stop kissing her. Didn't care that they were stumbling into furniture and would probably attract someone's attention as they clumsily made their way upstairs. Right now the only thing that mattered was that Paige was in his arms and he wasn't willing to let her go, even if meant he tripped down the stairs.

He lifted his head, slightly dazed when he felt her hand on his chest as they rounded the first landing. "Do you want to stop?" Stopping was the last thing he wanted to do, but if she changed her mind, he wouldn't push her.

"No," Paige whispered. "But we should. I want you." Paige pulled him closer for a kiss, "But I can't. Mike, if we do this, things will get confusing and we're finally friends again."

Friends. Right. That mattered. Friendship was important. Just not right this second. "You're right." Mike pressed his lips to hers, groaning when she deepened their kiss. "Tell me to stop, because I can't," Mike whispered against her neck, sliding his hand underneath her dress as he backed her up against the wall.

"Don't stop," Paige whispered. "I don't want you to stop."

Mike lifted his head to meet her gaze, just to be sure. "You sure?"

"No. Yes." Paige kissed him, "Yes."

Unzipping his pants, he pulled down his boxers and pushed aside her panties. He slid into her with one smooth thrust, swallowing her cries with a kiss as he frantically ground his hips against hers.

They were being careless by having sex on the stair landing. This wasn't even something they did when they were dating. But waiting one second longer hadn't been an option.

Everything faded away. All their baggage and issues. All the reasons why they convinced themselves they couldn't be together suddenly didn't matter anymore, because they were together right now. He didn't know what this meant. If it meant anything. The only thing he was sure of was that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her.

Paige stilled against him before relaxing. He pumped his hips a few more times into her before resting his head on her shoulder. Paige lazily ran her fingers through his hair as he kissed her shoulder. He gently lowered Paige to the ground, giving her a sheepish grin as they untangled themselves. Neither of them knew what to say, each remaining lost in their own thoughts as they straightened their clothes. Not ready to walk away from her just yet, Mike rested his forehead against hers.

Paige sighed, bringing her hand to his face. Still caught up in the moment, she kissed him slowly, as if they had all the time in the world to get lost in each other's arms. Mike heard a door slam downstairs and he started to step away, but Paige wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him.

"Tell me what you want," Mike whispered against her lips, before teasing her with several short kisses.

"I don't want to talk."

Mike sighed and gently stroked her face. Mike nodded, giving her a sad smile before taking a step back. "I..." his voice trailed off as Paige reached for his hands.

She laced their fingers together, showing no signs of wanting to move from where they were, despite the chattering of their roommates in the kitchen filtering their way. "Let's go for a walk on the beach."

Mike nodded, stepping away from her, but keeping their hands joined. They managed to slip out the front door without anyone noticing them. They walked around to the back of the house and Mike took off his shoes and rolled up his pants. Paige was still barefoot from when she had thrown her shoes at him earlier. Mike reached for her hand and led her down towards the shoreline. Getting their feet wet, they walked along the edge of the ocean in a comfortable silence.

They didn't need to talk to communicate, they had always been able to sense what the other one was thinking. No one had ever gotten him like Paige. He hadn't realized until tonight that he was still in love with her. And based on the way Paige had reacted earlier, at the very least she loved him, if she wasn't in love with him. Because if tonight had been about two exes hooking up, she wouldn't be with him right this second. But she needed to be near him as much as he needed to be with her right now. It was as if they both realized that tonight was a time-out from reality. Maybe they would get back together or maybe they wouldn't, but they had tonight.

Mike tugged on her hand, signaling for her to turn around and they started their trek back home. As Graceland came into view, Paige led him towards the rocks where they had countless bonfires. Mike shrugged off his suit jacket and placed it on the sand so Paige could sit down. He sat down beside her, dropping a kiss on her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. Paige settled into his arms, both of them content to watch the ocean lap against the shore as the moonlight illuminated the night sky.

They had both fallen asleep at some point, but the early morning surfers awoke both of them. Unhappy with the intrusion of their time out, Paige buried her face in Mike's shoulder, letting her hair fall over her face to block the sunlight from her eyes. Mike kissed the top of her head a few times before reluctantly getting up and pulling Paige to her feet. She led him inside, and it wasn't until they started heading upstairs that he realized they were tracking sand through the house, which meant Charlie would probably kill them once she realized they were the ones responsible. She would know it was them. His shoes were still out back and Paige's were probably downstairs still. Too tired to turn around and clean it up, he awkwardly walked Paige to her room like he was walking her home from a date.

Mike stopped at her door, not really expecting her to invite him in, despite spending the night together on the beach after having sex on the stairs. Paige turned to face him after entering her room.

She rested her head against the door frame, half-asleep. "Night, Mike," Paige whispered before kissing him.

He softly smiled at her, gently rubbing his thumb along her jaw for a few seconds before kissing her forehead as a silent goodnight.

He walked down the hall to his room, reaching in his suit jacket pocket for the engagement ring that was responsible for causing tonight's drama. Crazy diamond. He looked at it for a few seconds before placing it on his dresser.

"Night, Paige."

THE END


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I originally intended for Crazy Diamond to be a oneshot, but almost immediately after posting, a sequel started swirling in my brain. I just didn't think it would take over a year before it was finished. I have several more chapters to post and the good news is they're pretty much already written. A special thanks goes out to msjgatsby for giving me ideas about this when I was outlining this a million or so years ago...and to MrsCuddles for encouraging me to keep writing when I felt the end was nowhere in sight. Enjoy and I'm curious to know what you think.**

 **If you need a refresher on the first chapter you're too impatient to reread it before this one...Mike proposes while undercover and he and Paige get caught up in the moment and have sex on the stair landing, but don't get back together.**

* * *

This was all pretend.

At least that was what Paige kept reminding herself. She never had any problems being undercover, she had always found it easy to slip into the role of playing the seductress or the street smart girlfriend with drug connections. But playing Mike's fiancée? That terrified her because it felt so natural.

So natural that they ended up sleeping together a few weeks ago when he _proposed_.

But playing his fiancée shouldn't feel natural.

She and Mike broke up over eight months ago.

Technically, she broke up with Mike, because she felt like their relationship was consuming her. She was completely honest with him. Honest about her feelings. Honest that he had done nothing wrong. Honest that she couldn't give him what he deserved in a relationship. So she let him go. And he respected her decision. He hated it, but he respected it.

" _I'm sorry," Paige whispered. She lightly pressed her lips against his before breaking down in tears. "I'm so sorry."_

 _Mike returned her gentle kiss, and brushed away her tears. "You don't have to do this. We can slow things down or take a step back. If you need space, I'll move out of Graceland. I love you, Paige. I know you love me too. We can make this work. Don't say this is the end."_

" _I'm not saying no forever, I just - we need to take a break. God, I love you so much, Mike. You have no idea how much I love you. But my job has to be the most important thing in my life right now and it's not."_

" _I never said not to take that case," Mike said, his voice with a hint of defense._

" _No, you didn't." The case Mike was referring to was offered to her months ago, but she hadn't wanted to be away from him for so long. Having to go so deep undercover she probably wouldn't be able to talk to him for weeks. It was a wake-up call. Realizing that Mike Warren somehow became the most important thing in her life, made her take more and more dangerous cases just to prove to herself she hadn't lost herself. She was starting to get reckless in the field, and found herself second guessing every decision she made. She was unsure of her own instincts. As much as she hated to do it, she needed to break up with Mike in order to regain control._

 _Mike took a deep breath and smoothed his hands over her shoulders, "You made up your mind, didn't you?"_

 _Paige tearfully nodded, "I did. I still - I'm selfish, Mike. I still want you in my life. Your friendship it means everything to me. I need you in my life."_

" _But you don't want me." Mike dropped his hands from her shoulders and took a few steps back from her._

" _I didn't say that," Paige said, stopping herself before she closed the distance between them. Her instinct was to comfort him, she hated that he was hurting. That she was hurting him. But this was what she had to do._

" _You don't want to be with me."_

" _I can't, there's a difference."_

" _It doesn't feel like one."_

Those first few months had been really tense and she was considering moving out of Graceland if they couldn't co-exist as roommates. It had taken a lot of hard work, but they managed to keep their friendship intact and live under the same roof without killing each other.

Mainly, because they didn't fall into bed. At all. They slipped up exactly one time and that happened on the stair landing. Two weeks ago, Mike _proposed_ as part of his cover and brought all the feelings she thought she moved past came rushing to the surface.

That one perfect moment served as an escape from the reality that they were no longer together. She told Mike she hadn't wanted to talk and true to form, he hadn't pushed her. But she was having so much trouble reading him. What if he didn't want to talk? What did that night mean to him? What if everything he said that night was just because he was as caught up in the moment as she was? Paige felt like a coward, because she was afraid to ask. Afraid to find out if it meant more or less.

But right now, none of that mattered. Right now, he was undercover and she was by his side, helping him sell his cover. Just a few more weeks of playing the dutiful fiancée and then their lives could go back to normal.

Whatever that was.

Paige leaned closer to Mike and he looked at her briefly before putting his arm around her. He rubbed circles on her shoulder with his thumb as he chatted with Assif. It felt nice. Familiar. Distracting. Because now she was thinking about him touching her in other places.

Paige bit her lip as she imagined Mike sliding his hand up her leg, underneath her dress.

She took a sip of wine, trying to stay in the present and not get lost in the past. Because more than a few times, he had done just exactly that. Felt her up in the corner booth of a restaurant. Taking advantage of the privacy the booth offered them. She loved the thrill of knowing everyone was watching but that no one knew his fingers were buried deep inside her as he chatted up the waiter. And she knew Mike loved being in charge of her pleasure and knowing that she couldn't cry out, as he innocently smiled at the waiter while asking about dessert options.

The days where she was fooled by his innocent smile were long past. That same charming smile that helped Mike fool dangerous men into befriending him was no longer her undoing.

She started to focus a little on the conversation. They were talking business in very vague terms. She had a feeling Assif was especially guarded with his words because she was around. She wasn't sure what his wife knew, but she had stepped away to take a phone call. "If you gentlemen will excuse me, I'm just going to step outside for some air." This would give them a chance to talk specifics and give her some much needed distance from Mike, because she was starting to feel a little overwhelmed and confused.

"Of course," Assif said.

Mike quickly kissed her, "Don't be gone too long."

Paige nodded, smiling as Mike pulled her back to him as she stood up. He reached for her hand and kissed it. She could feel his eyes on her as she made her way to the balcony.


	3. Chapter 3

This was exactly what Paige needed. Just a few minutes in the cool night air to center herself and clear her head, then she could go back to playing Mike's devoted fiancée. She stared up at the stars, lost in her own thoughts when she heard the balcony door open behind her. She knew without turning around that it was Mike invading on her reflective moment.

Because, of course it was Mike. They had finally found peace and were moving on with their lives and one diamond ring thwarted all their progress. Now she was all mixed up about everything but she couldn't worry about any of that right now, the case took priority.

Paige leaned against one of the pillars as she turned around. Well aware of the fact that they were in full view of Assif, she tugged on his suit jacket until he was standing in front of her.

"Everything okay?" Mike quietly asked.

"I'm fine."

Mike looked at her curiously. He could tell that something was off with Paige, but he wasn't sure what. Something was bothering her, but he would have to trust that she was handling it. In addition to being on display for Assif, Johnny was listening in just in case something went wrong. Mike gently brushed his hand over her shoulder and resisted the urge to rub his thumb over her skin again. "This, this is okay?"

Paige nodded as she looked up at him.

He frowned when he realized he couldn't read her eyes. Whatever she was feeling, she was keeping to herself which told him everything he needed to know. Paige only hid her feelings when she felt too much.

Clearly, Paige was having as much trouble keeping her feelings out of their latest cover as he was. "What about this?" Mike asked as his lips hovered over hers, but he didn't move in to kiss her. Taking things further needed to be her choice. Instead he tangled his fingers in her hair as he pulled her closer. "Is this okay?" Mike whispered against her lips. He probably shouldn't be doing this, but he had always been helpless to resist her.

It didn't matter to him if they were broken up or together. Friends or pretending that they were engaged. Just getting to know each other and he was dating someone else. He always wanted her even when he wasn't supposed to.

Paige rested her hand on Mike's face, allowing her eyes to drift to the diamond ring that occupied her left ring finger. As much as she loved this ring. It wasn't her ring. Mike didn't really propose. All of this was all for show. She and Mike weren't really this happy engaged couple. She shouldn't kiss him. It didn't mean anything. But maybe that was why she should kiss him. She couldn't ignore what it felt like to kiss him even if it was just for show. Giving into desire, she pressed her lips against his.

 _"Aren't you going to Assif's restaurant with Mikey tonight?" Charlie asked as she entered Paige's room. She started sorting through the pile of dresses on Paige's bed and pulled out a lace teal dress._

 _"We're leaving in ten minutes, why? Briggs just got home if you need help going through bank statements." Johnny was doing surveillance for her and Mike, and Jakes would kill her if she volunteered him to work on his night off. Briggs would be annoyed, but he'd get over it more quickly than Jakes._

 _Paige put on a pair of earrings and slipped on a cuff bracelet, before reaching for her newest piece of jewelry. She flipped open the velvet box and took a moment to admire the flawless diamond before slipping it on. It was hard to believe that this was the only piece of jewelry that Mike had ever given her. Not that it was his to give. Or that it was really hers._

 _"You look like you're going to a wake, not out to dinner with your fiancé."_

 _"I love this skirt!" It was long and black. Flowy with a little bit of lace. She could dress it up or down. Tonight she paired it with a modest white silk top. It was perfect for a dinner with an arms dealer and his wife. She wasn't entirely sure why she had to go, but Mike said Assif wanted to congratulate the both of them in person._

 _"Assif thinks you two lovebirds just got engaged, you need to look like you're dressing up for the man you love. Not hiding underneath all that fabric." Charlie handed her the dress and Paige shook her head as she changed. "It's not too weird is it?"_

 _"The dress?" Charlie picked out this dress and then called her weird for wearing it? The hem stopped a few inches above her knees. It was form fitting but not too tight. It wasn't too low cut or strapless. She turned around, checking to see if she needed to put on a strapless bra, but the straps remained hidden._

 _"No, not the dress. Playing pretend with Mike. It took you two a while to find peace."_

 _Paige tightly smiled at Charlie, not wanting to have this conversation right now. Under normal circumstances she would've revealed that she slept with Mike the night he proposed undercover, but Charlie would've insisted it was a sign she wasn't over Mike and that they should just stop fighting the fact that they were meant to be. "It is what it is." She waved her hand at her friend, "When the ring's on, it's just pretend. We know that. When it's off, we're just friends."_

 _Charlie smirked at her as Mike knocked on her bedroom door. "If you say so."_

With her back to the pillar, Mike pressed himself against her, erasing the little space that existed between them. Paige lightly scratched his neck as he deepened their kiss. Even if this was all for Assif's benefit, she couldn't ignore how alive she felt when his lips were on hers. Paige gently bit his lip, and placed her hand on his chest, signalling for him to stop. "Did he tell you anything?"

"Nothing." Mike brushed his lips over her neck.

Paige sighed and tugged on his hair, "Shipping routes? Contacts?"

Mike lifted his head, "Nothing. I can't get in the office tonight. Just relax."

Paige sought out his hand and turned off his transmitter watch. She didn't want Johnny knowing that they slept together the other night, because if he knew, he would never stop pestering them about getting back together. Mike started kissing her again. A moan escaped her throat as Mike dragged his lips across her neck as he slid his hand up her dress. The heat rose to her face as she recalled her fantasy from earlier. He wouldn't dare. Not here. Not when they were out in the open like this.

But there was always the possibility that was reason that was why Mike was touching her. She wasn't sure if it was because of their cover or if he really wanted her. Maybe he was lonely. They never talked about that night. Instead they slipped back into being friends and it was if nothing happened. But she swore she felt nervous around him in a way she hadn't before.

A knock on the door interrupted them and instead of glaring at the person that intruded on a private moment with him and Paige, he offered an embarrassed grin to the waiter.

Paige placed her hand on Mike's chest, trying to keep him calm. When they were together, Mike hadn't been overly jealous. But he freely admitted that he hated it when other guys lingered too long in checking her out. Especially if it was obvious that they were together. And even they weren't technically together, Mike was all over her in a private balcony. It hadn't escaped her that Mike hadn't moved away from her. Instead he was being unnecessarily overprotective. Shielding her disheveled appearance from the waiter that had the bad fortune to interrupt him.

"Mr. Assif wanted you to know that the dessert course is being served."

Mike nodded, "Okay, we'll be right in."

Paige reached for his hands and turned his transmitter watch back on as the waiter disappeared back inside. She started fussing with her hair, wishing she had her purse with her because she should probably freshen up her make-up. She smoothed out the skirt of her dress, before fixing her straps. Paige automatically reached for Mike's tie and straightened it, taking advantage of his proximity to run her hand down his chest.

Mike moved closer to kiss her again, "Cегодняшний вечер?" The words slipped out of his mouth before he had a chance to stop it.

 _"Cегодняшний вечер," Paige seductively whispered in his ear as she started kissing his neck._

 _"What?" What the hell did she just say? Whatever it was, it sounded hot as hell. He wanted her to say that on his voicemail, so he could hear it whenever she wanted. Whoever said Russian wasn't a romance language hadn't heard Paige speak Russian. For all he knew she asked him to take out the trash, but he didn't care. He would do anything she wanted as long as she said that to him everyday._

 _Laughing, Paige playfully smacked his chest. "Your first case! Frankie Bout? You said the only thing you know in Russian is not tonight. I'm thinking you should know tonight."_

 _He smiled, understanding where she was going with this._

 _Their first official date had been over a week ago. Things had been going really well and they had talked about moving things to a hotel to get some privacy, but then Charlie got a break with her case and needed everyone's help. Then their own caseloads took over and they hadn't had time for a second date or time to sneak away to be alone together. He didn't want their first time together to be rushed or hurried. He wanted to take his time and not worry about someone walking in on them._

 _"That sounds incredibly sexy." He repeated the words back to her and she laughed and shook her head._

 _"You're saying it wrong."_

 _Paige repeated the words a few more times and he practiced them, but was distracted by Paige tracing her fingers along his lips._

 _"I don't want to wait until tonight. What's the word for now?"_

 _"данный момент."_

 _Mike repeated the word a few times with varied success. "данный момент?"_

 _Paige nodded and kissed him._

"I'm sorry," Mike apologized. He rubbed her shoulders, mentally kicking himself for being so careless. "Forget I said that."

"данный момент."

Mike's eyes widened at her response. "Paige, we don't - "

Paige cut him off with a kiss, letting him know she was more than okay with his slip and that she was okay with wherever the night took them. So what if she had no idea where things stood between them. She wanted him in her bed just as he wanted her and that was all that mattered. Everything else would figure itself out. Or it wouldn't. Right now she really didn't care.

* * *

A/N: I don't speak Russian so if google translate failed me, please let me know! I haven't figured out a regular posting schedule yet, but for now it'll probably be on Sundays. I might move to two chapters a week if there's enough interest. Enjoy!


	4. Chapter 4

Paige gave a slight nod towards Assif as Mike helped her with her wrap. "I can take a cab if you need to stay. Do you think there's a chance you'll get near the diamonds?"

Mike looked at her closely, no doubt trying to figure out what she wasn't saying. "He'll flip if I send you away in a cab. I'll drive back if Assif needs to meet, but I doubt he'll need me tonight."

"It's only a few blocks," Paige reminded him. Johnny was nearby in a surveillance van. It wasn't like the cab would take her far. She'd get dropped off at a safe location since she couldn't risk one of Assif's men seeing her get into an unmarked van. Johnny would meet her there and drive her home.

"I need to talk to him for a minute. If you need to go - just say the word and I'll drive you home, no questions."

Mike was giving her an out. Giving her a chance to take back her _now_. Even if it was a bad idea and made things more confusing between them, she didn't want to take it back. She wasn't sure of much, but she knew she wanted to be with him tonight. "I'll wait. I want to wait."

Mike gently squeezed her shoulder, "I'll just be a minute." He kissed her cheek and headed over to talk to Assif.

Paige debated pulling out her phone to pass the time, but she wasn't alone for long.

"Dinner was lovely," Paige praised when Assif's wife Marie came over to keep her company.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. Have you and Mike made any wedding plans?"

"I - we - want to wait until my parents get back from vacation. We haven't had time to plan anything. We're just letting it soak in," Paige said as she forced a smile on her face.

"Yes, enjoy this moment. It won't be long until you're knee-deep in seating charts and tasting menus."

Paige nodded, letting the woman prattle on about the details that would _not_ be taking over her free time. When she and Mike were dating, things had gotten pretty serious, but they had never talked about marriage or what type of wedding they would hypothetically have. To be perfectly honest, if he had brought it up she probably would've run. And if she had been the one to bring it up, they would've been at the courthouse the next day to get a marriage license. But what she did know, was that a big wedding with hundreds of guests wasn't their style. She didn't care about the latest wedding trends or coming up with a uniform hairstyle for her bridal party. If she and Mike were actually planning a wedding, it would be small and intimate. Just close friends and family. Or maybe even just the two of them on a remote beach with the sand between their toes.

Paige shook her head and pushed the idea from her head. There was no sense thinking about a wedding that wasn't going to happen. It wasn't like she and Mike were actually engaged. Or dating. She wasn't sure what they were right now.

Friends. They were friends that occasionally slept together. Nothing more. Nothing less.

* * *

Paige closed her eyes as Mike dragged his lips across her neck. When they were together like this, nothing else mattered. Labels. The past. The future. The case. All that mattered was this moment and existing in their own world. "If you keep that up, we'll never leave."

"Would that be so bad?" Mike asked as he backed her up against the wall.

Paige's breath hitched in her throat as Mike lifted her leg and wrapped it around his waist as he ground his hips into hers. "Maybe." It wasn't that anyone was keeping tabs on them, but staying out all night might lead to questions they didn't want to answer.

Mike lightly kissed her and reached for her hands, "You're right. We should probably head home."

Paige nodded in agreement as she toyed with her ring. Mike stepped away from her and sat down on the edge of the bed to put on his shoes and socks.

After leaving Assif's restaurant earlier, she and Mike went to Headquarters with Johnny. Once it became clear to Johnny that they were working on the case and weren't interested in grabbing a drink he ditched them. They hung around for a little while and not long afterwards they found themselves holed up in a hotel room getting lost in each other. She wasn't naive, she knew she and Mike weren't getting back together. All the same reasons they broke up didn't magically disappear now that they were sleeping together again. They were just having fun.

But just because they were having fun, it didn't mean she didn't care about him. Mike wasn't some random guy she picked up at the bar and she didn't want him thinking he was just some random hookup. Paige moved across the room and knelt behind Mike on the bed. She dropped a kiss to the back of his neck and smiled when he reached up and placed his hand over hers.

"Are you ready to go?" Mike asked.

Paige glanced around the hotel room, making sure she had all her things. Not that really had anything with her, it wasn't like this was planned. "Can we stop and grab takeout on the way home? I'm starving."

* * *

"Where's Johnny?" Briggs asked as he walked into Graceland.

Mike and Paige glanced at each other and shrugged. They hadn't seen him since getting home. "He's probably still at The Drop," Paige explained. "Are you hungry? We picked up Chinese. We got extra."

Mike motioned to the coffee table in front of them. Instead of eating in the kitchen, they decided to eat in the living room and watch a movie. Spend a few hours not talking. About the case. About what happened earlier. They were two friends sharing a meal while they watched a movie. Not two exes on the verge of starting up again. They could do this. They could keep whatever was going on in their personal life private. It wasn't going to affect the case and wouldn't be subject to house gossip because nothing was going on between them.

Briggs grabbed an egg roll and took a bite. "What are you watching?"

"Some sci-fi movie." It wasn't his first choice in movie, but Paige got excited when she saw it was on.

"No more westerns for you?" Briggs asked.

Paige groaned, "I'm not sure Johnny ever forgave him for taping over _Swamp Loggers_."

Mike laughed and elbowed Paige, "Don't bring it up! He finally stopped mentioning it a few months ago."

Briggs shook his head and reached for the Kung Pao Shrimp, "You done with this?"

Paige nodded, "Help yourself."

Holding up the takeout container as a silent salute, Briggs took that and some rice and made his way to the kitchen.

Mike tried focusing on the movie, but he really wasn't all that interested. He started going through files while Paige quickly became engrossed in the movie. He watched her out of the corner of his eyes for a few moments before going back to shipping routes as she finished watching her movie.

The second Paige turned off the TV, Johnny plopped down on the couch next to him. "What happened earlier?"

"With what?" Mike asked, keeping his voice casual even though he knew exactly what Johnny was referring to.

"Earlier, at the restaurant," Johnny explained. "You two were outside or something. Talking really quietly. I could barely pick up the audio, but you kept asking Paige if she was okay."

"Are you saying I'm not okay?" Paige asked, stretching out her legs on the coffee table.

Mike forced himself to keep his eyes forward, so he wouldn't get distracted by Paige's legs. If he kept focused on the lamp, he wouldn't feel the need to slide his hand up her leg, gently massaging her as he inched his hand upwards. That would be a bad idea. What happened tonight and the other night, didn't mean anything. They had hooked up a few times. That was all this was.

Paige was close enough to touch, but this wasn't like earlier when his hands and lips could wander over her freely. They weren't in front of Assif. They weren't sneaking away to be alone together. They were at home.

This wasn't like before. Like when he and Paige first started hooking up and kept it a secret from everyone. They weren't all over each other the second they were alone or stealing kisses in the kitchen. He knew without asking that Paige wouldn't be sneaking into his room that night and he was okay with that.

Mostly.

He wanted her. He would always want her. But getting back together? She wasn't ready for that. So he would play by her rules. Maybe he was pathetic, but he would take her anyway he could get her. Even if it was a random hookup every few weeks.

"Don't put words in my mouth. I know you two were talking about personal stuff, before the audio went out."

"I bumped my wrist," Mike lied.

Johnny gave him a disbelieving look. "Right, I'm sure that's exactly what happened. But what I do know is that you left Assif's hours ago and got home _after_ I back from the bar."

Mike grabbed a folder from the coffee table and handed it to Paige. "It's a big case. We had a lot of things to do."

"How long were you downtown? You stopped to get takeout, this isn't delivery. This restaurant isn't even on the way home from headquarters."

"Is there a point to your eagle eyed observations?" Paige asked. "This is where we got food from."

The restaurant was also across the street from the hotel they went to, so technically it was on the way home.

"Why are you still wearing that ring?" Charlie suspiciously asked, sitting down on the coffee table across from them.

Paige eye's darted to her left hand and shrugged. "I forgot to take it off," Paige lied. She took the ring off and slipped it in her pocket. The truth was that she liked the ring. She liked that Mike gave it to her. And when she was wearing it she got to pretend. But she was barely ready to admit those things to herself. She definitely wasn't ready to tell that to Charlie when she couldn't even find the courage to tell Mike.

"You sure that's all it is?" Charlie asked.

Johnny leaned over Mike so he was closer to Paige, "Because if you two are involved again, you can tell us."

Paige groaned and hopped up from the couch. She picked up the leftover takeout containers and wandered into the kitchen to put everything away. "We're not involved," Paige called over her shoulder. Johnny and Charlie were grasping at straws. There was no way she and Mike were getting back together. A few rounds of really hot sex didn't mean they were dating again, even if that was what she wanted.


	5. Chapter 5

"We're celebrating your engagement at a strip club," Johnny announced over lunch.

Mike choked on his sandwich at Johnny's suggestion. He grabbed a glass of water and managed to swallow some of it as he suffered through a coughing fit. Surely, he heard Johnny wrong.

Johnny patted his back, "You alright there, Mikey?"

Mike cleared his throat a few times and took a few more sips of water. "Just peachy."

"What do you say? Me, you, Jakes, Briggs and some of the finest dancers we can find will celebrate your engagement in style. I know you guys got engaged a while ago, but it's never too late to celebrate."

"We're not really engaged," Paige chimed in from across the room.

Mike didn't need to look at Paige to know that she was pissed. He could hear her annoyance despite the fake smile he was sure that graced her face. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"We'll do it up big, get a private room." Johnny leaned closer and lowered his voice, "There's this dancer, she bends in ways you would not believe."

Mike jumped when he heard something slam on the counter and he dared to glance at Paige. She grabbed some fruit from the fridge and the largest knife they had and started chopping. Aggressively. He had to stop himself from flinching each time the knife made contact with the cutting board.

Was he imagining things? Or was Paige watching him instead of the strawberries on the cutting board?

"I'm not sure I have time. This case keeps me pretty busy," Mike said, trying to steer Johnny's attention in another direction. "Like Paige said, we're not really engaged."

"You're not too busy for this! Like you said, you're not really engaged so we can't have a bachelor party. Just imagine any type of girl you want, barely dressed and teasing you within an inch of your life. Have you ever had a lap dance?" Johnny leaned closer and lowered his voice, "Son, let me tell you, it's the greatest kind of torture. A perfect body grinding on you and you can't touch, but she can." Johnny offered him a conspiratorial wink. "It's almost like the perfect wave."

" _Come on, is this really necessary?" Mike tried freeing his wrists, but Paige had them bound tightly behind his back._

" _I don't trust you." Paige leaned over him and brushed her lips over his cheek, but pulled away before he got a chance to turn his head and kiss her. She ran her fingers through his hair and made sure to thrust her lace clad breasts near his face as her robe fell open. "You're gonna want to touch."_

 _How could he not want to touch? Paige was drop dead gorgeous. Even sexier than he could've imagined, especially since her one goal was to drive him completely insane. "I'll behave."_

 _Paige shook her head as she stepped away from him. She took down her hair from a ponytail and shook it loose. She slowly ran her fingers through her hair while keeping her eyes on him. She backed up a little, seductively swaying her hips to the beat of the music. He groaned when she ran her hand across the top of her breasts. His eyes followed the path of her hand, and he wished he was the one touching her perfectly golden skin._

" _Of course you will, I made sure you will." Paige slowly let her sheer robe fall to the ground and pushed his legs apart. She turned around and gave him a perfect view of her backside as she started rubbing herself against him._

 _Mike fought to keep himself from reacting to his barely dressed girlfriend grinding on his lap. He tried slowing down his breathing, but was unable to stop his hips from rocking up to meet hers. He was going to have to start reciting golf stats, otherwise this night would be over before it began._

 _Paige looked over her shoulder and gave him a mischievous grin that did nothing to help him calm down._

 _His pulse was racing and his heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest, but he could do this. He just needed to think about the weather and not focus on the fact that his gorgeous girlfriend was shamelessly rubbing herself against him, wearing nothing more than a few scraps of lace. Paige turned around and climbed on his lap, but didn't move. He impatiently bucked his hips, desperate for her to start moving. She traced her fingers along his face, "I'm gonna take such good care of you, Mike, you just have to be patient. Can you do that?" Paige nipped at his lip and trailed kisses along his neck before tightly gripping his hair. "Because you're getting too excited."_

" _Not my fault," Mike groaned, desperately trying to keep himself still because he was clearly at Paige's mercy and they were going to do this her way or not at all._

" _We can go slower if you want," Paige suggested. "Or take a break. I can go fix us a snack or - "_

" _Don't stop. I'll be patient," Mike promised._

"That's a great idea, celebrate misogyny. Tell yourself you're paying her way through law school. Maybe, I'll have a bachelorette party. I can get one of those bride-to-be sashes and hit a few clubs with Charlie and some other agents. Guys love a naughty bride-to-be, it'll be fun." Paige popped a strawberry in her mouth, silently daring him to stop her. "Best part is, they won't mind if I touch."

He had no right to be jealous, but he hated the idea of Paige pressed up against some random guy in a club. "I'm sure they won't." He wouldn't.

Johnny shrugged as he looked at them, "We can do a group party or something. It'll be fun. Unless you think that's a bit much since you're not actually engaged. But if you're back together - "

"We are not back together!" They answered in unison.

Johnny laughed and grabbed his plate and shoved it in the dishwasher. He nodded towards them as Briggs wandered in the room. "In case you're wondering, they're not back together."

"Okay," Briggs carefully said.

"Keep your next few nights free, I have to check with Jakes but we're going out to celebrate Mike's fake engagement."

"We are not going to a strip club!" Mike said with an exasperated sigh. It was his fake engagement. Shouldn't he get to decide if they went out or not?

"I don't think you get a say in the matter," Briggs said. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and left him alone with Paige.

Mike shook his head, he'd have to talk to Johnny later and convince him this was a bad idea without saying why. He couldn't tell Johnny that he and Paige had been hooking up over the past few weeks, but were nowhere near getting back together. The one thing he was certain of was that whatever arrangement they had going on would definitely end, if he got a single lap dance from someone not her. Not that she was offering. He wasn't sure how she would react if he suggested something like that.

They only hooked up on nights they were undercover together and not every time. Never at home. Always at a hotel. And they never talked about it. They just talked enough to know they were both enjoying their arrangement.

"What Johnny suggested - I don't want that," Mike carefully said. "I'll talk to him. Maybe I can arrange a raid on his favorite strip club or something."

Paige offered him a small smile, but he knew her well enough to know she was faking. "It's fine."

It wasn't fine and they both knew it. But he couldn't push the issue unless Paige wanted to talk and that was the one thing she didn't want to do. Mike took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Can you come to the restaurant with me later? I need to check in and put in a little face time with Assif. It should be quick. There's nothing going on tonight. You can have a drink."

Paige nodded, "How is the case going?"

"I'm meeting with one of his contacts sometime this week and I'm hoping to see a shipment."

"That's great! You're making progress."

Mike nodded, it was great. But it was hard for him to focus on the case right now when all he could think about was Paige. "I feel like I should be apologizing."

"For what?"

"For - I don't know. Everything. Letting things go too far."

"Are you sorry we're sleeping together?"

"No," Mike quietly said. "I'm not sorry for any moment I've ever spent with you." He was sorry that the only way he was allowed to touch and kiss her was because of this stupid case. He was trying not to take advantage and be respectful of her personal space when they were under. But suddenly all the reasons why they had been keeping their distance from each other disappeared and when they were alone and he never wanted to stop touching her. And she didn't seem to mind. But when the ring was off, things were different.

"Good. I'm not either." Paige slid her hand across the table and lightly brushed her fingers against his.

"Ignore me," Charlie said, setting a bag of groceries down on the counter.

Mike guiltily jumped away from Paige and started emptying the dishwasher, "I told Assif I'd stop by after 9. Does that work for you?"

Paige nodded, "Sounds good. I have a meet with a CI, but I'm free after that."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks everyone for sticking with this story. Enjoy and let me know what you think!**

* * *

Paige swirled the bourbon around in her glass as she watched Mike with Assif. Their heads were together as they emerged from the back office. She caught Mike's eye and he winked at her. She appreciatively swept her eyes over him. He was wearing slacks and a button down shirt. He was also wearing a leather jacket that she loved. It was technically his, but she wore it as much as he did. Her borrowing it hadn't stopped when they broke up. And he never seemed to mind her wearing it.

"You ready?" Mike asked. He sat down next to her at the bar and draped an arm over her shoulder.

He dropped a kiss on her shoulder and she shivered. Paige nodded slightly and took a sip of her drink. Her eyes wandered as the light caught on the diamond of her ring. She and Mike were playing a dangerous game. They were having trouble staying away from each other and this ring gave them the perfect excuse not to. The more time they spent together, the harder it was for her to keep her feelings out of it.

At this point, it was pretty much a given that they would sleep together whenever she helped him out with this case. It was part of the reason why she spent over an hour getting ready tonight. She got ready as if they were going on a real date. She hadn't been sure what to do with her hair and before she realized what was happening, her hair was styled just like it had been the night they met, because she knew much how Mike loved it.

" _I love your hair like that," Mike murmured against her skin, delicately trailing kisses along her exposed neck. "It makes me want to kiss you and never stop."_

 _Paige gripped his hair tightly as he made good on his promise and lightly sucked on her pulse point. "That was the point."_

Paige felt like she spent way too much time getting ready. Instead of grabbing the first dress she saw, she tried on half a dozen dresses and took her time choosing the perfect lingerie. Not that it mattered, because she had a feeling it would end up on the floor the second she and Mike were behind closed doors. Like it had almost every night she accompanied him to Assif's restaurant.

Maybe not tonight though.

A plan started to form in her mind that would give Mike a chance to fully appreciate her lingerie before he took it off her.

"Have a drink with me," Paige said and motioned the bartender over.

Mike looked at her curiously and ordered a bourbon instead of his usual beer.

Her hand was tapping the edge of her glass and Mike rested his hand over hers, stilling her hand to quiet her nerves.

"Everything okay?" Mike quietly asked, trying to figure out what Paige wasn't saying. He didn't want to assume they would sleep together, but he was pretty sure that was where the night was headed, unless Paige was having second thoughts about their arrangement. He didn't want to push her to talk, because that would only push her away. He would have to tread carefully if he wanted to talk about maybe getting back together. He wanted to know If hooking up all these nights meant something _more_ or if she wanted to cut her losses before things got even more confusing.

Paige slowly looked around the bar and grabbed his jacket. She gripped it tightly and used it to pull him closer. "Get me out of here," Paige whispered before deeply kissing him.

Her tongue swept over his, washing away any doubt he had that _this_ was Paige wanted. Talking could wait another day.

* * *

Paige pushed Mike down on the chair, "Don't move."

Mike was frozen in place, afraid to risk breaking the spell that fell over them in their hotel room. He had no choice but to stay still, because if he disobeyed _this_ would be over in a heartbeat.

Paige backed a few steps away from him and slowly unzipped her dress. She let it fall a little, before holding it against her. Paige lowered it some and gave him a flash of black lace before covering herself up.

Mike groaned once he realized her game. Paige was hell bent on teasing him and as much as he wanted to grab her and pin her to the bed, he would let her have her fun. He would have his later.

He said a silent thank you to Johnny for bringing up a bachelor party earlier, because that undoubtedly put this idea in Paige's head. She wanted to remind him that no matter how many scantily clad women rubbed themselves on him, he belonged to her. Paige could be just as jealous and possessive as he was, not that she would ever admit it.

It seemed like an eternity, but Paige finally let her dress fall to the floor as she seductively danced to the music. He greedily raked his eyes over her body. Black lace clung to her curves, exposing the top of her breasts and leaving her torso bare. The matching panties barely covered her and he was desperate to rip them off her, but he knew without asking that they were going to do this at her pace or not at all. Paige wasn't cruel, but if she was in control, she expected him to follow her rules or she'd stop and stopping was the last thing he wanted.

Keeping her eyes locked to his, Paige slowly smoothed her hands over her body while she continued swaying to the music. His heart started racing as he watched her. It wasn't long before she climbed onto his lap. He was dying to touch her, but he was going to _try_ keeping his hands to himself until she said he could touch. He knew from experience that it would be worth the wait. If he touched her too soon, she'd pull out her handcuffs and he hated the marks they left on his wrists.

"How's this?" Paige asked as she started moving in his lap.

"Amazing," Mike said, his voice already strained as he gripped the seat of the chair. She felt amazing. Looked amazing. Smelled amazing. It hadn't been that long since they were last together, a week maybe? But it felt like an eternity and if she didn't stop rubbing herself all over him, he'd be finished before they even got started.

He could barely form a coherent thought, but he didn't need to say a word to appreciate the beautiful woman gyrating on his lap.

Paige closed her eyes as she rocked herself over him, "You feel amazing," Paige praised as she slid her hand to rest on his lap and firmly squeezed him.

"Paige," Mike begged. He didn't care how desperate he sounded. He needed her. Now.

Paige pecked her lips over his as she bounced on his lap. Paige wrapped her arms around his neck and shamelessly rubbed herself over him as she kissed him. "You're being good, so I'll let you touch."

Mike's hands immediately gripped her hips to slow her down, but Paige pushed his hands away.

"With your mouth."

Paige give him a wicked grin and he planned to take full advantage of the fact that her breasts were near his mouth. As sexy as she looked in that bra, right now he hated it because it was a barrier between him and Paige. He greedily kissed every exposed inch of skin and took his time as he trailed his tongue over her.

Paige sighed and she threaded her fingers through his hair as she continued moving over him. "Mike," Paige moaned. "God, your mouth..."

Taking her moans as a sign to continue, he gently bit her neck, being careful not to leave a mark. He lapped his tongue over her tortured skin to soothe her. "I'm following the rules." He trailed kisses down her throat until he was kissing the top of her breasts. He rocked his hips, knowing that the only way to speed things along was to drive her crazy.

Mike cursed in his head when his phone started vibrating in his pocket. Even though he shouldn't ignore it, ignoring the writhing blonde on his lap would be idiotic.

"Mike...your phone."

"I have voicemail."

"But..."

Her voice trailed off as he started sucking on her breasts through the lace of her bra. He reluctantly tore his mouth away and gave her a triumphant smile when his phone stopped vibrating. "See, they hung up."

"Hands," Paige breathlessly whispered.

Finally.

He fumbled with the clasp of her bra, desperate to touch her everywhere. He slipped off her bra and smoothed his hands over her back as he greedily kissed her. Mike tightly held her to him as he stood up and groaned when his phone started ringing again. Paige placed her hand on his chest and he begrudgingly lowered Paige to the floor and pulled out his phone. He answered it the moment he saw it was one of Assif's men. Mike ran his hand over his face to try to focus as he listened to the man on the other end of the line. "Yeah, of course. I'll be right there." Mike took a deep breath and tossed his phone on the bed. "I'm sorry." Out of all the nights to be summoned by Assif, it had to be tonight.

"You have to go."

The last thing he wanted to do was leave her like _this._ Hot and bothered, pissed and frustrated. But better than anyone, she understood why he had to go. "If I could stay - "

"I know you would, but let's be clear that you owe me." Paige grabbed her bra from the floor and put it on.

"Raincheck?" Mike asked, before he could stop himself. Paige nodded before he had a chance to take it back. Mike leaned over her and kissed her deeply. "I want to stay, believe me - "

"I hate it, but I get it." Paige hopped up and kissed him. "You should probably go before you're late. This could be your break."

He fixed his clothing and grabbed his jacket as Paige watched him. She made no move to get dressed, she just sat there in her underwear watching him. There was just something about it that seemed so domestic.

On impulse, Mike tugged on her hand and he smiled as she readily followed him to the door. He still wasn't sure where things stood between them. He wasn't sure that Paige knew what she wanted. At some point they would have to have that talk they were both avoiding, but there would be plenty of time for that. Mike framed her face in his hands and softly kissed her before leaving. He had a fleeting thought of skipping out on his meeting, but Paige would kill him if he blew his case to fool around.

But he was tempted.

So very tempted.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: This is about the halfway point of this story. It's still kind of strange that Graceland's been gone about a year. Thanks to everyone reading. Enjoy and let me know what you think.**

* * *

It wasn't his fault.

But that still didn't take the sting out of feeling rejected. Under ordinary circumstances, Mike never would've rejected her. Especially when she was barely dressed and they were alone. Mike was a lot of things and sometimes he was an idiot, but he wasn't that stupid.

They prioritized their jobs and that was fine. It was why she broke up with him. She couldn't get mad at him for doing the exact same thing. Besides it wasn't like they were even dating.

But they could be, a nagging voice said in her head.

Paige tightly smiled at a FBI Agent as she stepped off the elevator. Since her night was pretty much a bust, she figured she should stop at Headquarters and work on the paperwork she had been putting off for the past few days. And if Mike happened to call her while she was still here, they still technically had the room. But if not, there would be other nights.

Paige slipped her badge on as she walked through the office. She noticed Johnny and his team hanging out in a conference room. "Why aren't you with Mike?" It was just a regular meeting at the restaurant, but Mike should have a team with him.

"He told us to hang back," Johnny explained.

"He doesn't get to make that call." Paige unplugged the headphones of the agent listening in on Mike. Everything was silent for a few seconds and then she heard Assif's voice. His voice was muffled, but she was able to make out the word marina.

"They're talking about a shipment. It got held up at customs," the agent explained.

Johnny nodded, "Knowing Mike, he'll come up with a way to get it unstuck."

"Definitely." She plugged the headphones back in and handed them to the agent that had been listening earlier. "If he leaves there - "

"I'm following him," Johnny said.

She trusted that Mike would be safe with Assif. But she couldn't vouch for any of the other men he worked with. Mike didn't need her to send a TAC team on his behalf. But Mike also had a tendency to want to solve the case at any cost, even if it put himself in danger. Not that she really had room to talk.

"Okay," Paige said. "I'm going to stake out a conference room and work on some paperwork before heading home. Let me know if you leave first." Johnny wasn't the most reliable person when it came to doing chores, but he took his job seriously. There was no one she trusted more on TAC than Johnny.

* * *

The sun was just starting to come up when Mike and Johnny finally made their way home to Graceland.

Mike wasn't sure if Paige was expecting him or not. If he should text her or go to her room or something. Or if he should've texted her earlier. What should've been a quick meeting turned into him accompanying some of Assif's men to the marina and he finally saw a shipment. It was definitely the break he was waiting for and if things worked out the way he wanted, he would be closing this case soon. But as excited as he was about his case, it was Paige that preoccupied his thoughts.

Mike looked up as he heard a pair of footsteps descending the staircase. He discreetly ran his eyes over Paige's slender frame and glanced at Jakes. "You two are up early."

"Paige is helping me out with a case. I just have to buy her breakfast."

Mike smiled knowingly, everyone knew that Paige would agree to help out with just about anything if bribed with breakfast.

"Are you just getting home?" Paige asked.

He wasn't sure what she was asking. If she was wondering why he didn't text her or come looking for her or if she was simply asking if he was just getting home. Instead of giving her some vague answer that answered a bunch of questions she might not be asking he nodded, "Yeah, I saw a shipment."

* * *

From the moment Mike saw a shipment, the case completely took over his life. Things moved quickly and within weeks, he learned the details of a shipment before it landed. He put together a team and Assif was behind bars awaiting trial and life moved on.

He was currently searching for a new case. But until then, he was helping out his roommates with theirs.

Mike tiredly rubbed his eyes. He should probably go running, but he spent far too long the night before doing surveillance for Charlie.

"Mikey, are you seeing anyone right now?" Johnny casually asked one morning over breakfast.

"I - well, no," Mike awkwardly said, trying not to look across the table at Paige who was suddenly very interested in her yogurt.

He definitely wasn't dating anyone. As for what was going on with Paige, they were back to being friends.

Without benefits.

Nothing happened between him and Paige since the night he left her in their hotel room. As things picked up with his case, he wanted to find time to connect with Paige and not just to steal away a few hours to be together, but he had been too busy. The case she helped Jakes out with, turned out to be a big case for the both of them. Both he and Paige were consumed by work and barely saw each other until Assif got arrested.

The house went out to celebrate that night and he wondered if something would happen. Or if they would finally have that long overdue talk. But he never got the opportunity to talk to her alone and she didn't seem interested in talking or sneaking away with him, so he didn't push.

They slowly drifted back into being just friends, even though that wasn't what he wanted. But as usual, he had no idea what Paige wanted.

Jakes slowly looked around the table and glanced at Paige, "You almost ready?"

She nodded, shoving a few more spoonfuls of yogurt into her mouth.

"I'll go get the keys from Charlie." Jakes stood up from the table and headed upstairs.

"Good, the girl I'm seeing, her cousin just moved to the area, if you're interested," Johnny explained.

Mike took a big bite of his bagel and snuck a peek at Paige, looking for some sort of clue as to what he should say. If she said that was a bad idea, he wouldn't do it. If there was even a chance that maybe the two of them could work things out, he wanted to try, but he couldn't do it alone. Paige had to want it too. She had to tell him it was what she wanted.

"You should go," Paige said. It wasn't up to her who Mike dated or who he didn't date. Whatever had been going on between them during his case with Assif was over and the sooner they both moved on, the better off they would both be.

"Okay," Mike slowly said and kept his eyes on Paige for any indication that he should say no.

Johnny pumped his fist in the air, "I'll set it all up. Are you free tonight?" Johnny asked as he got up from the table.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the table as they watched Johnny rush out of the kitchen. Paige wasn't sure if Johnny was completely oblivious to how awkward things got just now or if he was secretly trying to push them back together by making them deal with the possibility of one of them dating. Just about the only thing she knew was Mike hadn't asked Johnny to say that, because he seemed just as surprised as she was.

"Have fun tonight," Paige said. She grabbed her things and stood up, only to be stopped by Mike's hand on her arm.

"Paige..."

"Mike, don't, okay? You don't have to clear your personal life through me, okay?" This was the first time that she was aware of either of them going on a date with anyone since they broke up. They broke up over a year ago. It was bound to happen eventually.

"I'm not interested in anyone, but - " Mike paused.

You. Anyone but you.

Mike's unspoken words hung in the air. For the first time in months, she was certain of how he felt, but she wasn't ready to deal with it. As usual, Mike was afraid to push her to talk, so he didn't. Even though she loved that about him, sometimes it infuriated her because he deferred to her when she just wished he'd speak up for himself. If he was truly interested in starting things up, he wouldn't give up on her without a fight.

"This will be good for us," Paige said, trying to convince Mike as much as she was trying to convince herself. "We should have some distance, move on." Last month, she had been willing to talk about things. She had everything all worked out in her head. They would spend a few hours lost in each other, like they always did. Then she was going to test the waters with him. Ask him to go on a walk on the beach when they got home so they could talk.

Except Mike got called away and didn't make it home that night. She was mad they weren't together that night, but she wasn't mad at him. The case took priority. It would always take priority and that was fine. They were both wired that way. But, it gave her time to think and she started second guessing herself. Maybe him getting that call was a sign that they needed to put the brakes on everything.

"Is that what you want?"

"I don't want you to put your life on hold for me," Paige quietly said. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that.

"If you need time, I can give you that."

Paige reached her hand across the table and gently squeezed his hand. "I can't ask you to do that. I won't." Paige pulled her hand away and sadly smiled at him, "It's okay, really it is. I'm not just saying that. Go out with Johnny's girl's cousin and have fun."

"PAIGE!" Jakes yelled. "We gotta go!"

"I'll catch up with you later," Paige said. She grabbed her travel coffee mug from the counter and quickly filled it, before hurrying out of the kitchen.

Mike ran his hand over his face, trying to figure out how he got to this place. His ex was his roommate. And his other roommate was trying to hook him up with his girlfriend's cousin. He wasn't sure he wanted to meet anyone, but Paige seemed to think they needed to move on. He wasn't sure she was ready, which was insane because they broke up a year ago.

"Why are you still down here?" Johnny asked as he wandered back in the kitchen. "I thought you had a meeting."

"That's not until later."

"So you and Paige - "

"We're friends," Mike automatically said.

Johnny looked at him closely for a few moments, clearly unsure if he should believe him or not. "Okay, tonight. 7pm, we're meeting for drinks. Be ready."

Ready? Sure, he could be ready. Whatever the hell that meant.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I didn't forget about Crazy Diamond. I just didn't want it to get buried in the ficlets I posted earlier. Enjoy!**

* * *

Paige peeked in Mike's room and groaned when she found it empty. Of course it was empty, Mike was _never_ home. His case was on hold right now and she would've heard if the bureaucratic bullshit that was holding it up suddenly cleared up. If Mike wasn't working, he was probably with _her_.

Susie.

Johnny's (now ex) girlfriend's cousin. Mike's girlfriend. What kind of name was Susie anyway?

Paige had met her a few times. She was pretty sure that Mike was pretty careful about not bringing Susie around her, but if he had been on double date, Johnny hadn't been as careful. And it wasn't like she could say anything. She couldn't tell Mike not to bring her to The Drop, because she was the one that told Mike to go out with her. It was like that first summer all over again. She pushed Mike towards Abby, and he fell for her and she was left out in the cold.

And now it was happening all over again.

It was her own fault.

How was that for relationship sabotage? She sabotaged her own potential relationship with Mike by pushing him towards someone else.

She hadn't been ready to start things up again, she honestly needed more time to figure things out. Only instead of telling him that, she told him she needed space. And it was five weeks later and he wasn't available.

Or maybe she was only certain she wanted Mike when he was dating someone else.

Paige took a deep breath and slowly walked back to her room. She looked up as Johnny walked past her. "If you're looking for Mike, he's not home." Paige moved the files she was carrying to her other arm.

"I need him to talk to Clarke for me." Johnny motioned Charlie over as she stepped out of her room, "Hey, Charlie, have you seen Mike?"

Charlie quickly glanced at Paige before settling her gaze on Johnny, "I think he mentioned something about grabbing a drink with Susie."

Paige forced a smile on her face as Charlie said her goodbyes.

"I think he's getting serious about her," Johnny said.

"I wouldn't say that," Paige said, trying to keep her voice even.

Johnny nervously looked towards Mike's room and placed his hand on her arm, "P, he got her a ring."

Paige shook her head, "You don't know what you're talking about." No. There was no way that Mike would actually get this girl a ring. Johnny was mistaken. Mike barely knew this girl. Susie probably didn't even know that Mike was FBI. How could he be serious about someone that didn't know who he really was? What was wrong with him?

She entered her room and ditched her files on her bed. She ignored the fact that Johnny was trailing behind her.

"I don't know what I'm talking about? I saw a ring in his dresser! Paige, if you want Mike, you better do something about it now before it's too late."

Paige started hastily throwing clothes in her laundry basket. "There's nothing for me to do. Mike and I, we're - "

"Over, you've said that. Both of you. Repeatedly. You say you're friends, but you're not just friends. I know something was going on with you two during the Assif case. I've seen the way you look at him."

Johnny flopped down on her bed and she swatted at his legs to get him to take his feet off her bed.

"How many times do we have to tell you that we're friends?" Johnny introduced Mike to Susie and now he wanted her to make a play for him?

"It doesn't matter how many times you say it, I know - "

"Maybe you should believe us."

"Maybe you should..." Johnny's voice trailed off and he nodded towards the door.

"Paige, hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Mike asked, popping his head in her room.

"I need to talk to you about my case," Johnny said.

"Can it wait? I'll find you in a little while," Mike said.

Johnny pointed at both of them, "Bonfire later? You both in?"

"Leave," Paige ordered.

Johnny smirked at her as he hopped off her bed and exited the room. For once, he made sure to close the door behind him. Although, she wouldn't be surprised if he was listening outside the door.

Mike glanced at Paige curiously, not sure why she was in a bad mood. "I had someone go over your - "

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Paige marched over to him and angrily smacked his chest. "You're moving too fast!"

"Moving too fast?" Mike asked as he took a few steps back. Paige asked him to have someone go over her surveillance footage last night. If she didn't want someone looking at it, why did she ask? She should've told him if she wanted him to wait.

"You idiot! You're not ready for this!"

"Hold on, you're the one - "

"I don't care what I said, I know you! I don't care if you're screwing her, she doesn't know you, Mike! She doesn't know you like I know you! You're moving too fast."

Susie.

Paige was talking about Susie, not surveillance. Mike laughed softly to himself as Paige continued her jealous tirade.

"What the hell is so funny? We both know I'm right."

As much as he loved that Paige was so worked up about him and Susie, there wasn't a him and Susie. At least not as of an hour ago. "I ended things with her."

"Charlie said you were with her earlier."

"To end things." Things were starting to get a little more serious and his vague answers didn't satisfy her. So he knew he needed to end things sooner rather than later.

"I thought you liked her."

"I do, but - "

"I don't believe you ended things with her." Paige folded her arms over her chest, making it clear that she disagreed with him.

Mike looked at Paige strangely, not sure why she was so insistent that he hadn't ended things with Susie. But in her defense, he lied to her about breaking up with Abby, no wonder she didn't believe him. Mike reached in his pocket and handed Paige his phone. His most recent text messages were all from Susie, asking him to meet up with him so they could fix things. "See for yourself."

Things with Susie were never going to work out. Not long term. He liked her. He liked hanging out with her and spending time with her. He hated lying to her everyday about where he went, but he didn't feel comfortable enough to tell her the truth about his job.

Paige kept silent as she skimmed the messages on his phone, "That doesn't prove anything and it doesn't explain why you have a ring in your dresser."

"Is that what this is about? The ring in my dresser?"

Paige looked at him with accusing eyes, "You really have a ring?" Paige quietly asked. "You got her a ring? Is that why you broke it off with her, she said no? What is wrong with her?"

Mike shook his head, "You don't get it, do you?" He left her room and headed to his with Paige hot on his heels.

"Don't walk away from me!"

Mike walked to his dresser and opened up his sock drawer. He pulled out a black velvet box and handed it to Paige. "Here."

"I don't want to see a ring you bought for her!"

Mike flipped open the lid, "I didn't get her a ring."

Paige was speechless as she looked at the ring in question. She looked up at Mike, "My ring. You keep my ring," Paige softly said. "Why did you keep my ring?"

"If you're over me, why are you so jealous?"

Paige closed the ring box and set it back in the drawer, "I should go, I have..." her voice trailed off as Mike reached for her wrist, pulling her closer.

"I'm cashing in my raincheck."

"Mike, we shouldn't - "

Mike cut her off with a kiss as he backed her up against the wall. "I don't care what we should do. All I care about is how much I want you and I know you want me too. We can label it or not. Start over or have this be a one time thing. It's up to - "

"Shut up and kiss me," Paige demanded before whispering _now_ in Russian.


	9. Chapter 9

"You'll do it?" Paige asked.

Johnny nodded, "You hold up your end of the bargain and I'll hold up mine."

"What bargain?" Mike asked. He rifled through the fridge in search of a snack.

"The Drop, tonight. Paige is buying, you in?" Johnny asked as he made his way out of the kitchen.

"Why are you buying his drinks?" Mike asked. He made his way to the sink to wash some grapes and placed them in a bowl.

"Quid pro quo," Paige explained. "I need his help with something and figured this would be the easiest way to get it. Do you want to come with us? Briggs said he might stop by."

"I shouldn't," Mike said. "I have a stack of files to work my way through."

"Anything I can help with?" Paige asked. She swiped some of his grapes and started snacking on them. She was relieved that things seemed normal between them. The first few weeks after they slept together had been awkward. On some level she knew it was a bad idea to keep falling into bed with Mike. The main reason they managed to make it work after they officially broke up was because they stopped sleeping together. But things were different now. They weren't pretending to be engaged. She wasn't all worked up thinking that he was proposing to another woman. They got it out of their system and everything was fine.

" _Do you have a minute?" Paige asked. She glanced around the living room and once she made sure no one was downstairs, she sat down next to Mike on the couch._

" _What's going on?"_

" _The other night - what you said. You said it could be a one time thing or not, are you really okay if it's not?" Paige quietly asked._

 _Mike took a deep breath and released it slowly. "I told you I was and because you're asking, I'm guessing that's what you want."_

" _I have feelings for you. I'm always gonna have feelings for you. You - Mike, you're the most important person in my life. That hasn't changed. You're just getting out of a relationship."_

 _Mike laughed, "If you don't want to be with me, just say so. Don't use her as an excuse. Did you ever think that maybe she was the rebound?"_

" _A little," Paige confessed. But she had to admit, it felt nice to hear him confirm it._

" _Then what's the problem?"_

" _Me. It's not fair of me to keep expecting you to play by my rules if we want different things. Don't you dare say you're okay with things if you're not. Us being together the other night, it was good. Really good," Paige whispered. That was part of the problem, sex wasn't the problem. It was all the other stuff that got in the way._

" _You're like a drug. I can't think straight sometimes when I'm with you. I want you, Paige. I'm always going to want you. But what happened the other night, if it was a one time thing - it can't happen again. If we're over, we need to be over. Because this back and forth, I can't do it. I meant what I said about it being a one time thing. But what happened during the Assif case, it can't happen again."_

"Not if you want to go out tonight," Mike said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "I might take you up on it tomorrow."

"I have a training in the morning, but I'm free after that." Paige gestured to the fridge, "I have some leftover pizza from last night if you want it."

"Does it have sauce?"

Paige rolled her eyes and smacked him, "I'm just being nice. Don't eat my pizza if you're going to insult it."

"I didn't insult it! I just wanted to know if it had sauce or if it was one of your weird white pizzas."

Paige groaned, "I don't even know why I bother with you."

* * *

Mike tiredly rubbed his eyes as he reached into his sock drawer. He grabbed a pair of socks and looked at the contents of the drawer strangely. The black velvet box containing Paige's ring was moved.

Again.

Every so often he'd notice the box wasn't quite where he left it. He pushed it back to the corner of the drawer where it normally was. Mike brushed his fingers over the velvet of the box, but didn't open it.

He wasn't sure why he hung onto the ring. Call him a sentimental idiot, but that ring belonged to Paige as far as he was concerned. He turned it in at the end of the Assif case, but when it went up for auction, he bought it.

Why, he wasn't sure. It wasn't like he could give it to her. They were friends again. It had been almost a few months since he confessed to still having the ring. Paige still refused to admit she was jealous, because she thought he bought a ring for someone else.

Despite all that, they had a pretty wild night. At Graceland. Which was something that hadn't happened since he _proposed_. They both agreed it probably shouldn't happen again, but for different reasons. Because if there was one thing he had learned about being with Paige, was that not having her in his life wasn't an option for him. As much as he hated to admit it, there was always the chance that maybe they weren't meant to be. Maybe they kept falling into bed together because they were holding onto something that wasn't there anymore. Or maybe they were lonely and didn't feel like meeting new people.

He couldn't bring himself to get rid of Paige's ring, despite knowing that it wasn't really _her_ ring. Even if she never wore that ring again, he hated the idea of some other woman wearing it.

Mike shook his head and closed his dresser drawer. He put on his socks and slipped on a hoodie, before heading back to his desk to settle in for a long night of work.

* * *

"You're home late," Charlie commented as Paige entered the darkened house. She gave her a knowing smirk and lowered the volume on the TV. "Meet someone?"

"Shut it," Paige said as she slipped off her shoes and sat down next to Charlie.

"You're not answering the question."

"I was out with Johnny, we stopped for food on the way home. He thought the waitress was cute, so he gave me money for a cab." She wasn't mad that Johnny ditched her. She probably would've done the same thing if she met someone she was attracted to. Only tonight, she hadn't really been interested in hooking up with anyone. So she went out with Johnny and made him promise not to ditch her at The Drop the moment someone caught his eye. And true to his word he hadn't. He waited until they were at a diner to pick someone up.

"You didn't meet anyone?"

Paige shrugged, "Not tonight." Truth was, tonight she just wanted to go out and unwind. Have a few drinks and not worry about finding a semi-decent guy worthy of a one-night stand. She wasn't in the mood to lie and pretend she was a pharmaceutical rep. So she made a deal with Johnny. She would pay their tab if he didn't abandon her at The Drop.

Charlie looked at her for a few moments and tilted her head, "When's the last time you saw Phil?"

Phil. She hadn't been with him in ages. "I think he moved. I haven't seen him in a while."

Charlie nodded. "Let's go out together. Just the two of us. Girls night out. Leave the boys at home."

Paige smiled, "That sounds fun."

"We'll compare schedules tomorrow. Briggs was looking for you earlier. Something about wanting an introduction with a meth dealer?"

Paige groaned, "That loser won't call me back. I'll call him tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan," Charlie said, settling back into the couch to finish watching a late night celebrity gossip show.

Paige grabbed her shoes and made her way upstairs. The second floor was completely quiet, but she could see the light on in Mike's room and the bathroom. She silently crept down the hall, momentarily stopping to set her shoes outside her bedroom door. She looked around before making her way to Mike's bedroom. His door was cracked slightly she was pretty sure he fell asleep at his desk.

Again.

Paige gently pushed open his door, and the moment she noticed his empty bed, her eyes drifted across the room to his desk. A soft smile filled her face as she saw Mike fast asleep, his arms resting on the desk and his head buried in the crook of his elbow. Always the workaholic.

Paige quietly walked into his room and turned off the light, engulfing his room in darkness. She stood over him, and watched him sleep for a few moments. Despite the stack of files scattered on his desk and the case that no doubt kept him up so late, the expression on his face almost seemed serene. She gently stroked the hair back from his face and he stirred slightly but didn't wake up. "Night, Mike," she whispered.

On her way out, she stopped in front of his dresser and placed her hand on edge of the top drawer, before turning back to look at him. Not wanting to risk waking him up, she left his room as quietly as she entered.

Paige froze when she noticed Jakes at the top of the stairs. His eyes darted to Mike's room and she hurried down the hall, "I was just turning off his light," Paige explained, not wanting him to get the wrong idea.

Jakes looked at her curiously but didn't say a word as he slipped into his room. She supposed if one person had to run into her sneaking out of Mike's room, she preferred it to be Jakes. She knew he wouldn't harass her about her and Mike getting back together like Johnny or Charlie would. Briggs had never been the strongest supporter of their relationship, because of his self-imposed, no love in Graceland rule. And she wasn't in the mood for a lecture about a non-existent relationship. Jakes wasn't interested if she and Mike were together or apart, and wanted no part of this. She also knew he wouldn't ask Mike about it the next day. Because she didn't want to tell Mike why she had been in his room, although she would use the same excuse she gave Jakes.

Paige continued down the hall to her room and bent down to grab her shoes before entering her room. She flipped on the lights and dropped her shoes on the floor. She emptied her pockets and started taking off her jewelry, making sure that nothing got misplaced.

They hadn't slept together since the night she found out he kept her ring. It was a just a one time thing. It didn't mean anything. Okay, so maybe she had some residual feelings for Mike. It was normal. Looking back, having a fling with Mike during the Assif case probably wasn't the brightest idea. It brought a lot of feelings to the surface. Made her jealous about someone she had no right being jealous about. Because if she wanted Mike, all she needed to do was tell him. But she didn't tell him. And she was starting to accept that she was okay being over him. She cared about him. She would always care about him and part of her would always love him. But loving him and being in love with him were two completely separate things.

People grew and they changed. It was normal. She wasn't the same person she was a few years ago. Mike wasn't either. There was nothing wrong with that. Maybe they didn't fit together as well as they used to.

For the first time in a long time, she was finally starting to feel like herself again. Her caseload evened out a while ago, once she stopped trying to prove to herself that she would do anything to get the job done. Working with Jakes right after the Assif case made sure she didn't completely bury herself in her work and kept her in check. It was hard to make reckless decisions when she had been working so closely with him.

Now if only her personal life could be in as much order as her work life. Her dating life was practically non-existent. Which was fine. She really wasn't looking to get involved with anyone. That really wasn't her style. But it was exhausting to have to go out and meet guys if she wanted to hook up with someone. Not that it was hard to meet guys. It just took a little longer because she wasn't looking for anything more than a one night stand. She wasn't in the headspace to handle anything more than right now.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I didn't forget, just had a busy day and a scene to add to this chapter before posting. Love seeing new names in the reviews, in addition to the familiar ones. As usual, enjoy and let me know what you think.**

* * *

"I finally arrested that piece of shit," Charlie announced as she collapsed on the sofa.

"We should celebrate. Let's go out tonight, who's in?" Johnny asked.

"Count me in," Paige said, squeezing onto the sofa next to Charlie.

"I'll be there, JT," Briggs said and gave Johnny a mock salute before exiting the room.

"I suppose I can spend a few hours with everyone," Jakes said.

"I can't," Mike said. "My case is keeping me busy."

Paige glanced over at Mike, she titled her head and looked at him curiously. This was the second time that Mike begged off in going out because of work. Not that he wasn't a workaholic, but she couldn't help but wonder if he was avoiding her. Maybe she was wrong and things weren't normal between them.

"Everyone's coming, you have to come," Johnny said.

Paige kept her mouth shut as Mike continued making excuses about not going out. If Mike said he had too much work, he had too much work. It didn't have to mean anything. It didn't have to mean that he couldn't be around her.

"Next time, okay?" Mike patted Charlie on the shoulder as he made his way out of the living room. Johnny trailed after him, trying to convince him to change his mind.

Paige watched Mike leave and resisted the urge to go after him. She grabbed her things and wandered into the kitchen. She made a quick stop by the fridge before heading upstairs.

Charlie nodded in Paige's direction as she went upstairs. "What do you think's going on with those two? They're acting weird."

"I don't care if Paige has been sneaking out of Mike's room late at night. Whatever it is, leave me out of it," Jakes announced.

"What do you mean sneaking out?" Charlie asked. She was unable to keep the grin off her face.

Jakes groaned, "I'm not getting involved."

* * *

Mike looked up when he heard a light knocking on his door frame. "Hey, what's going on?" Mike asked.

"You sure you don't want to come out with us?" Paige asked as she entered his room.

Mike took a deep breath so he could gather his thoughts before responding. He knew what Paige was asking. It wasn't that she was asking him to come out, she wanted to know if she was the reason why he wasn't going out. "I'm not avoiding you."

"I didn't say you were avoiding me."

He stared at her for a few seconds, trying to decide how he wanted to answer. The last time they talked about them, they made it clear they wanted to be friends. They both talked about how important that was. For both of them. Paige was trying, she really was. So was he. But him staying in tonight didn't have anything to do with avoiding her. If he couldn't handle being around her, he hiding from her wasn't his style. "I really do have a lot of work to do tonight." Mike gestured to the stack of files on his desk, "Tracing this money trail is going to be the death of me."

Apparently Paige was satisfied with his answer because she stopped pushing him. "Still can't find anything?"

"Nothing."

"I thought you saw something on a surveillance tape?"

"It didn't pan out."

Paige frowned, "Okay, I'll let you get back to work. But if you change your mind, you know where we'll be."

Mike nodded as Paige left the room. They went to lunch together. They helped each other out on cases. But they didn't flirt. They didn't sneak off to be alone together. But that didn't mean they couldn't go out with their roommates. As much as he would love to relax and have a few drinks with everyone, he couldn't tonight.

* * *

"I thought you weren't coming out tonight," Charlie said.

"I couldn't stare at bank statements any longer," Mike commented as he sat next to her. He unsuccessfully tried to get the waiter's attention, but The Drop was packed that night. He looked around the bar to see if the rest of the house made it out, but froze as soon as he saw Paige at the bar.

Apparently he wasn't the only one that noticed Paige. In addition to having the bartender's full attention, a pair of guys were talking to her and judging by her body language, she wasn't interested. But the days where Paige needed him to step in on her behalf, were not only over, they had actually never existed. Paige had always been more than capable of handling over eager guys. When they were dating, he quickly learned that she didn't like it when he stared down other guys. She reminded him that she was going home with him and whatever guy was leering at her could look all he wanted. Mike watched her curiously as she held up her left hand and pointed to her ring finger. An all too familiar sparkle caught his eye.

She was wearing her ring.

With that one gesture, Paige dismissed the guys hitting on her and turned her attention back to the bartender.

"The waiter's taking too long. I'm going to go order at the bar. Anyone need anything?" Mike asked.

Jakes lifted up his beer bottle and Mike made a beeline to the bar, wanting to catch Paige before she left.

Mike pushed his way to the front of the bar, until he was standing next Paige. "Hey."

"Mike, hey! I thought you were staying home tonight." Paige set down her beer and casually put her hands in her pockets.

"Changed my mind." He caught the bartender's attention and ordered Jakes a beer, along with one for himself. Leaning closer to Paige, he lowered his voice. "You don't have to hide it, I saw the ring."

Paige nervously laughed as she pulled her hands out of her pocket and ran her hand through her hair. It had been a stupid idea to wear it tonight. Her male roommates would never notice. Charlie would recognize this ring in a heartbeat, but as long as she slipped it off when they were together, she figured it would be safe to chance it since Mike wasn't here. Of course he recognized it from across the room. "Busted."

"Are you going to tell me why you're wearing it?"

"Sometimes I don't feel like getting hit on. As annoying as it is, guys won't back off when I tell them I'm not interested, but they somehow step off if I'm wearing this." Paige held up her hand and shrugged.

There were a million ways Mike could read between the lines, but he decided to take what she told him at face value, oddly finding it comforting that not only was she not looking to hook up with anyone, she was wearing a ring _he_ put on her finger. Apparently, this wasn't the first time and that solved the mystery of why the ring box kept moving around his sock drawer.

Mike paid for his drinks and motioned to the pool table, "Wanna play? Johnny and Briggs owe us a rematch from last time."

Paige considered his offer and found herself nodding before she had a chance to overthink things. They had settled into being friends again. They hadn't slept together since the night she confronted him about Susie. She wasn't sure she was in a place where having casual sex with Mike was a good idea. Her head was still a little mixed up after everything that went on during the Assif case, but everyday they got a little closer _without_ hitting the sheets was progress. Playing pool and not using it as an excuse to tease him until he got so worked up that he wanted to drag her to the bathroom or an alley or anywhere private, would be good for them. She could do this. "You're on."

Mike smiled and motioned to the pool table, "Let them know we want a rematch and I'll go give Jakes his beer."

Paige nodded and dutifully made her way over to the pool table to issue their challenge to Johnny and Briggs. It wasn't long before Mike was by her side, and the four of them started their game.

The hours passed quickly as one game quickly turned into two, because Johnny demanded a rematch when she and Mike won. It was nice to just be themselves and hang out with their friends and not have to deal with any of their emotional baggage. There were no hidden agendas or double meanings. It was just them laughing and hanging out. She missed this.

The only thing that was a little out of the ordinary was that she kept the ring on. Although, Mike didn't say anything about it, she was pretty sure he appreciated how it kept all the random guys that would normally hit on her at bay. Even if they weren't dating, she knew it bothered him. It was worse when they were together, because he had to balance wanting her to himself but walk the line of not pissing her off by treating her like a piece of property. But they didn't have to deal with any of that tonight.

Things were normal between them again.

"P, are you ready?" Johnny called.

Paige downed her drink and looked up at Mike, "Are you coming?"

"Nah, I told Charlie I'd finish up her game of darts with Jakes. We'll catch up with you at home. Make sure to get - "

"Thin crust, pepperoni. I know."

"Paige, five seconds or we're leaving without you! 1-2..."

"Bye!" Paige snatched his leather jacket from the chair and scurried off after the rest of the group to go pick up pizzas.

Mike shook his head, not surprised at all that Paige stole his jacket. If there was one thing that hadn't changed about their relationship over the years, it was that she swiped that jacket anytime she had a chance.

He was really glad he decided to come out tonight. He was pretty sure that he would always feel something _more_ for Paige, but he was grateful that they were able to work through things and find a way to be friends again. No matter what was going on with them, he needed her in his life.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Thank you all for continuing to read this story. I love knowing that I'm not the one still invested in Pike. It's crazy to think it's been about a year since they cancelled Graceland. Curious if others are following everyone's project. I'm loving Conviction and BrainDead was great. I'm looking forward to Ransom when it comes out. Enjoy and let me know what you think or if you're following their new shows.**

* * *

Paige smiled brightly at the random guy standing next to her. He was kind of an idiot, but he would do. She was looking for a one-night stand, not a relationship. One downside of just being friends with Mike was that she had to actually make an effort to meet someone if she wanted to hook up. Their fling that happened during the Assif case was long over. They had slept together exactly one time since then. She had slept with exactly one guy since she and Mike last fell into bed and _that_ was almost three months ago. She was long overdue.

"Let me buy you another drink, beautiful."

Paige offered him a flirty smile and shook her head as she placed her hand on his arm, "We could do that...or - "

"Paige, hey - can I talk to you a second?" Mike asked as he suddenly appeared at her side.

Paige narrowed her eyes at Mike, "Kinda busy here, Mike." She turned and offered an apologetic smile to - what was his name? Brian? Brad? Whatever. She didn't need to know his name. He was on vacation and after tonight she would never see him again. This was exactly what she needed. An easy hookup. Nothing complicated.

"It'll just take a second."

"Hey, if you two are..." the man's voice trailed off as he gestured to them.

"Roommates," Paige quickly said. "We're roommates." Paige gave the guy a flirtatious smile and held up her index and pointer fingers. "I'll be back in two seconds."

She glared at Mike as she dragged him away from the crowd. "What the hell?" She asked. "You better have a good reason for showing up here."

Mike was supposed to be home with Charlie and Jakes having a movie marathon. Briggs was with her and Johnny at The Drop. Since Mike stayed home, it was the perfect opportunity for her to pick someone up and not deal with the awkwardness of picking someone up in front of him. Only _he_ had to be an asshole had to show up and sabotage her.

"You forgot this," Mike said. He looked extremely pleased with himself as he reached into his pocket and pulled out _her_ ring.

Paige furiously shook her head. "No, I didn't. I came here to pick someone up tonight, okay?"

"Wait, so you're sleeping - "

"We are not discussing my sex life!" Paige quietly hissed.

Mike held up his hands in mock surrender, "I'm not saying you can't sleep with anyone. I know right now - we're not, that's not what I'm saying. I just - I didn't know, not that you have to tell me. Look, I knew you came out and I was putting away laundry and I saw the ring and thought - I mean, I didn't know," Mike rambled. He felt like an idiot. Paige didn't have to run her sex life by him. They hadn't slept together in months. They weren't dating or even thinking about dating.

"Mike..." Paige slowly looked around the room and he followed her gaze.

A small crowd was forming around them and people were pointing and excitedly whispering. Johnny winked at them and raised his beer bottle as if he was toasting them. Mike looked down at the ring in his hand before meeting her gaze. His eyes widened as he realized everyone around them thought he was proposing. "Paige, I - no, I'm not - "

The guy that Paige had been talking to earlier, quickly moved to the other side of the bar.

Paige grabbed his wrist and dragged him outside, "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Paige yelled. She smacked him a few times in the chest.

"I'm sorry! I thought you forgot - "

"Mike, I didn't forget! I didn't wear it on purpose. I wanted random guys hitting on me! I need to get laid! I haven't had sex in three months and now I'm going to have to go somewhere else, because everyone in that bar thinks you just proposed to me!"

"You don't have to go somewhere else. Look - "

"Yes, I do. The only guys that might still want to get with me are going to be total assholes!" Even if she only had to deal with the guy for a few hours, the last thing she wanted to do was sleep with a guy that thought she just got engaged to someone else.

Before she realized what was happening, Mike crashed his lips against hers. He backed Paige up against the side of The Drop and groaned when she dug her nails into his neck. Paige looked up at him, her green eyes filled with lust.

"What about me?" he asked as he busied his lips on her neck.

"This doesn't change anything."

"I know."

"I'm serious, Mike. This doesn't change anything."

"It's a one time thing, I get it."

Paige stared at him for a few moments, no doubt trying to figure out if he was really okay with things.

He pulled her closer and waited for her to push him away. Waited for her to protest. But Paige kissed him instead.

"Just for tonight, okay?" Paige asked.

For the first time in a long time, he was okay with that and it seemed like Paige was too.

* * *

"So we're clear on everything?" Mike asked.

"Crystal." Paige peered around Mike and tried to see if anyone was in the living room. It looked like the lights were out in the living room, but she swore she saw a shadow. It was late, but it wasn't that late. Someone was bound to be up.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Stop asking or I'm going to change my mind. If you're not sure, then this ends now."

Mike shook his head, "I'm good, things are good." What happened tonight wasn't a one time thing. Both he and Paige were in a place where they didn't want to start dating other people. However, they also didn't want to date each other.

They were both adults. They were friends. And they liked to sleep together. There was no reason why they couldn't be friends with benefits.

It made the most sense. Their jobs made it hard to date. Their schedules could be impossible at times. It was exhausting to play pretend for work and in their personal lives. Trying to meet someone for a one night stand, was sometimes more trouble than it was worth. What if the sex was bad? Why go through all that trouble for mediocre sex? He and Paige never had mediocre sex. Even if they were exhausted and it was the middle of the night.

"Just good?" Paige teased.

Mike smirked at her and stopped himself before he kissed her. Because _that_ would be against the rules.

Not that they had official rules. But kissing unless they were hooking up was off limits.

"Mind blowing. Things are mind blowing."

"Mind blowing, huh?" Paige lightly poked his chest. "I'll keep that in mind for next time."

Next time. There would definitely be a next time. The only question was when. It wasn't like they came up with a schedule and decided to hook up on Thursdays. It was whenever both of them wanted to hook up. It could be when they were working together. Or if they were out together. Or at home and bored. Whatever. Wherever. Whenever. They were both on the same page for the first time in a long time and that was all that mattered. Pretty much the only rule was that if either of them slept with someone else, they had to tell them. They were both free to sleep with whoever they wanted to sleep with, but had a right to know if the other one was sleeping with someone else.

Mike unlocked the door and ushered Paige inside. He started to head towards the kitchen as she began making her way upstairs when a lamp suddenly turned on.

"I hear you got engaged tonight," Charlie said.

"Johnny has a big mouth," Paige muttered.

Charlie jumped up and hugged both of them, "It's about time you two figured things out!" Charlie exclaimed.

Mike and Paige awkwardly looked at each other.

"We're not engaged," Paige began.

"We're just friends," Mike explained as he ran his hand through his hair. "A funny thing happened tonight..."

"Just friends?" Charlie asked. She poked Mike's neck and Paige flushed slightly. "Care to explain the hickey on your neck that wasn't there a few hours ago, Mikey? I guess Paige can stop sneaking out of your room at night."

Sneaking out of his room? What was Charlie talking about? Mike's eyes darted to Paige as he rubbed his neck and she shrugged.

"We're sleeping together," Paige announced.

"But we're not dating."

Charlie laughed, "You two should stop pretending and just date already."

Paige crossed her arms over her chest, "We're not pretending."

"We talked about this," Mike said. "Dating doesn't really work for us."

Charlie smirked at the pair before exiting the living room, "That's what you say now."

Paige narrowed her eyes at Charlie before turning to Mike, "She doesn't know what she's talking about. I mean, what we talked about earlier - you're okay with everything, right? Us sleeping together, it doesn't confuse things for you?"

"Does it confuse things for you?"

"You're avoiding."

"Honestly?" Mike asked. A little. But this wasn't some desperate ploy to keep Paige in his bed while he figured out a way to win her back. "Paige, I care about you. I'm always going to care about you. But for whatever reason, we can't make things work. You - you knew that before I did. I'm just starting to realize that you're right. But despite all that, I - our arrangement works for both of us."

Paige nodded slowly. "I want you in my life, Mike, but I'm not in a place where I want to be in a relationship with anyone. If things change for you, you'll let me know, right?"

"Promise."


	12. Chapter 12

Paige closed her eyes as she massaged the shampoo into her scalp. It had been a long day in the field and she was thrilled to finally be home and wash away the stress from the day. Most of her team got reassigned at the last minute to help out with a larger bust, so she had to scramble to find enough people to help out. Luckily, most of her roommates had been free and more than willing to help out.

Her eyes shot open when she felt a blast of cool air. Her eyes widened when Mike stepped into the shower. "Is your shower broken?" Paige teased as he stepped closer.

It had been less than a month since they started their new arrangement and it wasn't like they were when they first started dating. They weren't stealing kisses or sneaking off to be alone. This also wasn't like their most recent fling. They weren't booking hotel rooms to hook up after working together. They just happened to be friends that had sex a few times a week. And they lived together. And they worked together. But surprisingly, their arrangement wasn't blurring the lines of friendship. They were both adamant about not going on dates or doings things they used to do when they were dating, just because it was comfortable.

Paige was trying hard not to cross lines she shouldn't, because of what Mike told her months ago about not being able to do the back and forth. She took him at his word that he could do this, and she believed him. So if she suspected that his feelings changed or if he wanted more, they would have to talk about it. As much as she would love to ignore all of that, she couldn't. Them sleeping together again had the potential to destroy their friendship if they weren't careful.

But the last thing she expected was for Mike to join her in the main shower. If she had been using his shower, the invitation would be unspoken. But this was surprising. This was the main shower. People were home.

"You told me to find you later," Mike reminded her. "This is later, but if you want me to go..."

Paige shook her head, she would be insane to send Mike away. Maybe she was shallow, but she didn't have the willpower to send away an attractive, naked man when he crashed her shower. "I want you."

Mike gave her a wolfish grin that made her pulse race as he backed her up against the wall and kissed her.

* * *

Mike looked up, nodding to acknowledge Paige when she walked into the kitchen later. She was dressed for bed and offered him a small smile as she wandered towards the cupboard, no doubt in search of her favorite tea.

"I'm surprised you're still up," Mike said.

Paige's case had been running her ragged and she had barely been home this past week. He had to confess that seeing her in her TAC gear, completely in control of her team and the bust was a major turn on.

 _Mike glanced around the warehouse and it was mostly empty with the exception of a handful of agents. The suspects were long gone, along with the forensics team. Paige was standing off to the side of the warehouse, rotating her neck. She rattled off instructions to a few agents and the moment she was alone, he approached her. He stopped when he was directly behind her, so he could whisper in her ear without drawing attention to them, although he wasn't sure how any male in a five-mile radius could do anything but completely focus on her. "Let's go get a drink," Mike breathed in her ear, keeping his hands at his sides._

 _That was their code for hooking up if they weren't at home._

 _Paige glanced over her shoulder at him and shook her head, "I'll be stuck here for a while, but find me later."_

Paige shrugged as she grabbed a mug and filled it with water. She put it in the microwave to heat up, "I have a few more reports to sign off on. I have an early meeting with my supervisor."

Mike gestured the maps in front of him, "I have to figure out where to put the cover team. There's road work on the street where we initially wanted to put it and now we need to find a new location."

Paige offered Mike a sympathetic smile as she pulled her hot water from the microwave and tossed in her tea bag. She bobbed it up and down a few times and let it steep. "Figure out a way to get the road work postponed."

"That's a good idea."

"Of course it's a good idea."

Mike laughed softly and grabbed his stuff as Johnny entered the kitchen, "Be ready at nine tomorrow, we have to find someone downtown that'll postpone the road construction."

"It's not that late," Johnny complained. "I have time to go out for a drink and - "

"We're leaving at nine and if everything works out, the first round is on me - tomorrow."

Johnny grumbled his annoyance and grabbed a beer from the fridge. "You want one, P?"

Paige shook her head, "I had a drink with Mike earlier."

"Wait, you two went out for a drink and you told me I can't go out?"

Paige smirked at Mike and took a few drinks of tea and left him to answer a frustrated Johnny. She slipped out of the kitchen as Mike tried explaining that they swung by The Drop to celebrate her win with a round of shots, but didn't stay long so that was why they didn't invite him. Not that any of that happened, but she always liked to keep Mike on his toes.

* * *

"Are you going to drink that?" Paige asked, gesturing towards the untouched shot in front of Briggs.

He pushed it in Paige's direction, "It's all yours."

Paige downed the shot and immediately reached for her beer as a chaser. She had a few days to let loose before she started a new case and she planned to take advantage of it. It felt like she hadn't been out in ages. She would have to drag Charlie to a club downtown. She wanted to dance with some nameless guy and lose herself to the beat of the music. She wasn't looking to pick someone up. She didn't need to.

"Thanks." She glanced around the bar, looking for Charlie and her eyes stopped briefly on Mike. His back was to her and he was at the bar talking to another woman. The woman was clearly hitting on him. But she wasn't concerned. She wasn't even really that jealous. Mike was free to do what he wanted with who he wanted, but she was also sure he would follow their unspoken rule of not trying to pick anyone up in front of the other person. Not that either of them picked someone up since they started sleeping together again. That was the one thing she was sure of, because that was one of the few rules they had. She watched him for a few more minutes, surprised that she didn't feel the urge to march over there and claim him as hers even if he really wasn't.

Maybe it was the alcohol. Or maybe she was truly over him.

Briggs got up to go play pool with Johnny and she looked around the bar, trying to figure out what she wanted to do. She wasn't in the mood to sit by herself and drink. Maybe she could talk Jakes into playing darts. Before she had a chance to get up, Mike sat down next to her.

Mike handed her a beer, "Here."

"You didn't have to do that," Paige said. She took a few sips of the beer and set it down in front of her.

Mike looked at her with a puzzled expression on her face. "It's just a beer." It was actually for Charlie, but he wasn't sure where she disappeared to.

"Not that. Thanks." Paige tilted her head towards the bar. "Just now, the woman at the bar - the one that was talking to you - if, if you're interested..." Paige's voice trailed off before taking another drink.

"I wasn't - I'm not - I'm sorry," Mike apologized, even though he wasn't exactly sure what he was apologizing for. The woman that was hitting on him earlier was pretty, but he wasn't interested. He wasn't looking to get involved with anyone right now. In fact, if Paige told him that she wanted to start dating he wouldn't immediately say yes like he would've six months ago. Yeah, he was interested. He would always be interested, but their past made him cautious about getting involved again.

"You don't have anything to apologize for. What we're doing, it is what it is. But I'm a big girl and maybe I don't want to see you hitting on another woman but that doesn't mean I can't handle it if you're interested in someone else."

"I need you," Charlie announced as she suddenly appeared at the table. She leaned over Paige and directed her attention to the other end of the bar. "Come on."

Mike watched as Charlie ushered Paige away and tried to figure out what Paige wasn't saying. Was this like that first summer all over again? Was she trying to pawn him off on someone because she didn't want to get involved with him? Or was it because she was interested in someone else?


	13. Chapter 13

Paige finished applying sunblock and she pulled on a pair of jean shorts over her bikini. She quickly braided her hair and grabbed the football from her bed before making her way downstairs. Since she had to wait until tomorrow to get a warrant, her case was on hold today. The weather was perfect and she wanted to spend every possible second outside, because too much of her time had been spent in a seedy cocktail bar.

Paige smiled brightly at Mike and Johnny while they lounged on the couch. "Hey, what are you two doing right now?"

Johnny looked over at Paige and groaned. "Don't tempt us."

"Come on," Paige said and tossed the football to Mike. "It's early."

Mike caught the football and tossed it back to her. "We can't."

"It's not even 9!"

"We have to run TAC for another case," Johnny explained.

"Seriously?" Paige asked. Her shoulders fell slightly when he nodded. She had been looking forward to relaxing on the beach with the guys. She figured they could run around for a bit, then head to Hector's to lunch. Then she would get some much needed one-on-one time with the sun and work on her tan. She felt like she hadn't seen the sun in weeks.

She glanced at Mike one last time and pouted slightly, hoping he would cave and they could head out for a little bit.

"Sorry," Mike apologized.

"You guys suck," Paige said as she collapsed on the sofa. She hopefully looked at Jakes. "Hey - "

"Don't even think about it," Jakes warned. "I have a seminar downtown but after that we can go play darts."

"I guess."

"I'll even buy you a drink later," Mike offered.

He smirked at her - to let her know his offer wasn't just friendly - and she swore her heart stopped. She still wasn't sure how he was able to affect her like that with just a smile. But he was that good looking. Paige nodded, "You're on." She hopped up from the couch and went outside. So much for beach football, but at least she could lounge in the sun. Then spend some time between the sheets with Mike later.

* * *

"Are you and Paige still doing that pretend dating thing?" Johnny asked as he slipped on his TAC gear.

"We're not pretend dating," Mike said. He checked his gun and holstered it.

"But you're sleeping together."

Mike glanced around the room, he didn't really need everyone he worked with knowing intimate details about his sex life. "It's just sex."

"Charlie always talks about the first time you saw Paige and I wasn't there for that, but I saw you both everyday after that. You fell for her hard."

"We tried dating that didn't work. We broke up and - "

"She broke up with you," Johnny interjected.

Mike glared at Johnny. At this point it didn't really matter if he broke up with Paige or she broke up with him, they had been over for a while. "We broke up and now we're sleeping together."

" _Now._ You're sleeping together now."

"Why are you so interested in my sex life?" Mike asked. He was trying to figure out if there was a point to any of this or if Johnny was just trying to annoy him by asking a ton of personal questions. He hadn't gotten personal yet, but he know Johnny, it wouldn't be long before he was asking for details. Johnny liked to know everything, but five minutes later he would complain about knowing things he didn't want to know.

Johnny slung his arm over his shoulder, "Mikey, do you know anything about women? You and Paige are _not_ just sleeping together. If that's what you think this is, you're wrong."

"I think you're paying too much attention to my sex life," Mike said. "Paige and I - we talked about this. Us sleeping together now, it's not like before. We're not dating and we're not hooking up every chance we get." They weren't sleeping together every day, although if she knocked on his door every night, he would be a fool to send her away. "It's not like it was during the Assif case. We - "

"During the Assif case? I knew it!"

Mike groaned when he realized his mistake. Johnny suspected something was going on with him and Paige during that case, but he they both denied it. They were careful not to flirt in public or at the house. So careful that no one ever called them out on sleeping together. Sure everyone suspected, but everyone suspected they were sleeping together even when they weren't. Besides, what was the big deal? Why were he and Paige always the center of house gossip? No one ever kept tabs on anyone else's sex life.

"Warren! Tuturro! Let's go!"

Mike pulled away from Johnny, relieved to have an out from this conversation. At least for the next few hours. But even though Johnny claimed he had a date tonight, he wouldn't put it past Johnny to cancel and come to The Drop tonight when he met up with Paige for a drink.

* * *

Paige glanced at her watch for what felt like the millionth time. Mike and Johnny should've been here by now. It wasn't like they had plans to meet at a specific time, but they should've finished a few hours ago. Johnny sent her a text a while ago. It was supposed to be a simple raid on a warehouse. She pushed aside the nagging feeling that something was wrong. "She's cute," Paige said, nodding towards brunette on the other side of the bar.

Jakes glanced at her and went back to his beer, "Not really my type."

"Since when is hotter than a supermodel not your type?" Paige asked.

"Aren't you sick of this scene?"

Paige shrugged. "Sometimes." It was one of the main reasons why her arrangement with Mike worked so well. She didn't really have to deal with this scene. If she wanted sex, she just needed to wander down the hall and knock on Mike's door. Hell, she probably didn't even have to knock. She didn't have to worry about being someone else or running into someone she didn't want to know outside of the bedroom. She got to have mind-blowing sex and her friendship with Mike was as strong as ever.

They were adults, but their personal history complicated what should be an easy fling. They lived and worked together. They had a messy breakup, but moved past it before falling into bed again. As much as she hated to admit it, part of her would always be drawn to Mike. It didn't matter if it was five weeks down the line or five years. He was always going to own part of her heart. But she wasn't worried about herself, she was worried about him. She hurt him once. More than once, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. That meant she had be the one to pull away if she suspected he was falling for her again.

Because as much fun as she was having with Mike, being in a relationship with him or anyone, wasn't really in her plans.

"Do you mind if I bail soon? I told Briggs I'd help him with a case."

"That's fine. Thanks for the game of darts." Paige glanced at her phone again. "They should be here soon." Right on cue, her phone started ringing. "See!" Paige showed Jakes her phone and answered it, "Where are you two? Johnny? What's going on? I can barely hear you. Hang on a second." Paige covered her ear and started walking outside so she could hear better. It was too noisy in here for her to hear anything. "Johnny?"

"You need to get to the hospital. Mike got hurt. It doesn't look good."

She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder and dropped her phone. If Johnny was playing games, she would kill him.

Jakes knelt in front of her hand picked up her phone. He looked at her curiously, but didn't hand the phone back to her when she started crying. "What the hell did you say to her?" Jakes demanded as he reassuringly squeezed her shoulder. Jakes closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "We're on our way."

Paige let Jakes lead her through the parking lot. He was talking to her, but she couldn't really make out anything he was saying to her. All she could think about was Mike.

Jakes opened the car door for her and ushered her inside. "Levi's gonna be fine. He has a hard head. He's stubborn."

Paige nodded in agreement as she buckled her seatbelt. He had to be fine, she didn't know what she would do if he wasn't.


	14. Chapter 14

Mike opened his eyes slightly and blinked a few times before closing them.

Everything hurt.

Even his eyelids hurt.

What the hell happened?

Just as Mike started drifting back to sleep, he heard an all-too familiar voice murmuring his name. He felt Paige take his hand in hers and brush her lips over the back of his hand. As tempted as he was to succumb to sleep, he wanted to see her more.

Mike opened his eyes slightly, groaning slightly as he tried to sit up.

"Don't move too much." Paige held a cup of water to his mouth and he took a small sip.

Mike immediately noticed that Paige was wearing _her_ ring, but was too out of it to even think about what that could mean. They had been sleeping together on and off for the past few months, but she hadn't worn that ring once since that happened.

"I'm going to go get your doctor, okay?" Paige gently kissed his forehead and offered him a teary smile as she ran her fingers through his hair. "You're gonna be just fine."

Mike stubbornly tried to keep his eyes open, but it wasn't long before he had fallen back asleep.

* * *

Paige nervously twisted the diamond ring on her finger as she watched Mike sleep. It had been two days since the explosion and Mike finally woke up earlier today. He had been in and out of sleep since then. Each time he was awake, he stayed awake a little while longer. The doctor assured her that was normal. They moved him from ICU to a regular room the night before and that was a good sign. It meant he was getting better. It meant the swelling in his brain wasn't as bad as they initially feared.

Paige focused on the rising and falling of Mike's chest. He had been breathing on his own for the past 24 hours. She was relieved that he was no longer hooked up to a breathing machine. Each injury he sustained reminded her he wasn't invincible, neither of them were.

Last time, she was the one in the hospital. Six stitches on her arm after some drug dealer sliced her up once he tried to cut her out of the deal and she called him out on it. The scar was barely visible, the doctor that stitched her up had done an incredible job.

 _Paige peered at her arm as the doctor finished stitching her up. "How many stitches?"_

" _Six," she said as she examined her work. "I'll get you bandaged up and then you're good to go."_

 _Paige turned her head when she heard Mike's voice. "In here," she answered._

 _Mike popped into the cubicle, "Hey."_

" _What are you doing here?"_

" _Briggs called me, he had to go to Headquarters, so he couldn't stay and give you a ride home."_

 _Paige nodded, focusing her attention back to the doctor. That seemed believable. If it had been Charlie or Johnny, she would've suspected one of them ditched her so Mike could show up. The whole house knew she and Mike were friends with benefits, but Johnny and Charlie weren't subtle about trying to push them back together._

 _Mike turned her arm slightly to look at her stitches, "How many?"_

" _Six, don't worry, you still have the house record."_

 _Paige dutifully held out her arm as the doctor put a bandage on it._

" _Keep this dry and change it once a day. "_

 _Paige listened as the doctor gave her the rest of her instructions, it wasn't anything she hadn't heard before, but she listened just in case there were some special instructions. "Am I good to go?"_

" _You're all set." The doctor smiled at them and left them alone in the cubicle._

" _You need help with that?" Mike asked and gestured to her arm._

" _Help with what? It's just stitches." Paige hopped down from the table and grabbed her things._

 _Mike stepped closer and lightly ran the back of his hand along her arm, being careful not to touch her bandage. "You might need help with showering later," Mike mused._

 _Paige smirked as her lips slowly curved into a smile. Mike was definitely pushing boundaries, but she didn't mind. "You offering me a drink?"_

 _Mike stepped closer to her and tugged on her shirt, "Or something."_

This wasn't like then - this wasn't a half dozen stitches and a few ibuprofen for the pain. Mike almost died. She had to decide if she needed to call his mom. Ultimately, she decided not to call her because Mike had been stable that first night, but if he hadn't been, she would have.

Paige shook her head and forced herself to focus on the present as the door to his room opened.

"You plan on going home anytime soon?" Charlie asked, slipping into Mike's room.

Paige shrugged, continuing to watch him sleep. "I'm fine."

"He gave us all a scare."

Paige nodded and reached for his hand. She smiled slightly as his fingers automatically wrapped around hers. "He did. Any update on Jennings?"

Mike hadn't been alone when the warehouse exploded. There had been another agent with him and his injuries were far worse than Mike's. It had been touch-and-go with him since the moment he was admitted. It broke her heart to see his pregnant wife sitting vigil by his bedside. She had been by to visit and offer her support, but hadn't wanted to be away from Mike for too long.

"Nothing new. As for Mike, the nurse gave him a sedative. He's going to sleep through the night. Mike won't even know you left. You can go home, get some rest. Take a shower. Change - "

"I took a shower this morning." One of the nurses took pity on her and let her use the shower in the hospital locker room, so she wouldn't have to survive on washing up and using dry shampoo.

"You've barely left his side since the admitted him. He wouldn't want you running yourself ragged. He's gonna be fine, Paige."

"I know."

"You're not leaving are you?"

Paige stubbornly shook her head no. She wouldn't leave until Mike asked her to leave or until he got released. Whichever came first.

Charlie sighed and squeezed her shoulder, "You need anything from home? Or something better to eat?"

"Johnny was here earlier, he brought Hector's."

"And he shared?" Charlie asked, clearly surprised.

"Shocking, right?"

A nurse popped her head into the room and apologetically smiled at Charlie, "Visiting hours are ending soon."

Even though the ring was just for show, one of the perks of being Mike's _fiancée_ was that the hospital staff didn't kick her out when visiting hours were over. It allowed her to stay with him since he had been admitted.

Charlie nodded and turned to Paige. "Call me if you need anything. I'll bring you some clean clothes tomorrow."

Paige hugged her tightly, "I will." Charlie placed her hand over Mike's and gave it a reassuring squeeze before exiting the room.

The nurse checked his vitals and made some notations in his chart.

Paige stood up to stretch her legs. She walked around the room a little big and traded her hoodie for Mike's leather jacket. She took a deep breath and was comforted by his scent. Walking back over to the bed, she pulled her chair closer to Mike's bed and affectionately ran her hand through his hair as he peacefully slept. She reached for her book on the nightstand and started reading aloud. She wasn't sure if he could hear her or not, but she wanted him to know he wasn't alone.

* * *

Paige's eyes shot open when she heard Mike's voice calling out for help. She rushed to his bedside and calmed down slightly once she realized he was having a nightmare. "Mike, wake up," Paige quietly said as she gently shook him awake. His face was covered by a fine sheen of sweat and his blankets were all twisted. She didn't have any idea how long he had been tossing and turning. "Mike, hey - you're okay, you're okay."

Mike's eyes opened and his eyes darted around the room. Paige held her breath for a few moments, not wanting to startle him. She wasn't afraid of him, but he was clearly agitated. She breathed a sigh of relief as his eyes focused on her and he visibly relaxed. "I'm just going to get you some water." Paige poured him a glass of water and she held it for him as he took several sips.

"Sorry for waking you," Mike apologized.

She shrugged and settled back down in her chair across from him. "It's okay."

Mike took a deep breath as he sat up slightly, "I was trying to clear the area and then there was an explosion. It knocked me back and I hit my head. I can't really remember anything after that. But in my dream, I was awake after I hit my head and I couldn't get out." Mike said. He knew all the details about the explosion, but his memories were coming back in bits and pieces. He knew he hadn't really been trapped, but he couldn't control his dreams.

"But you did and you're gonna be fine," Paige softly said.

Mike nodded his head slightly. Maybe if she said it enough times he would start to believe it. He didn't even want to think about how different this conversation would be if he had been trapped. If he would even be having this conversation. Mike glanced at the clock in the room, it was almost 4am. "Thanks for staying. I didn't mean to wake you." He stopped himself before he told her she didn't have to stay. He didn't care what their label was right now, he knew she wasn't going anywhere and he wanted her to stay. "Thanks."

"Get some rest." Paige got up and moved to the more comfortable chair on the other side of his room.

Mike wondered how she could rest in that chair and wondered if she wanted to sleep next to him. He started to move over to make room for her, but just that slight movement exhausted him and before he could offer, he was fast asleep.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing this fic. It's always hard for me to finish up longer fics, but I actually wrote this chapter first. And in my original draft for the continuation of this story there were maybe 5-7 chapters. As usual, enjoy and let me know what you think.**

"I don't see why I'm still in here. The doctor said I'm fine," Mike complained.

"Paige will _kill_ you if you even think of checking yourself out AMA," Johnny said. He reached for the deck of cards and started shuffling them. "She's barely left your room since you were admitted."

Charlie dragged Paige out on a food run and insisted that the fresh air would do her some good. Paige probably would've stayed if he asked, but she had been by his side non-stop for the past few days. As much as he didn't want her to leave, he asked her if she'd swing by the house and pick up some things for him. She deserved a break from all of this. This wasn't what she signed up for.

"She's just worried. With the explosion and everything..." Mike's voice trailed off and tried to see if Johnny was stacking the deck.

"So worried she needed to play the fiancée card?" Johnny smirked and set down the deck of cards for him to cut.

"She wanted more information." "We're federal agents, she didn't need the ring. She has a badge! How does she even have that ring, didn't that case end months ago?"

Ignoring Johnny's comment, Mike cut the deck and pushed it towards him. Paige had been wearing her rings for days, he noticed it immediately but hadn't commented on it. Asking would upset the delicate balance of their friendship and right now, he needed her more than he needed answers.

* * *

Paige glanced at her phone and made sure she had all the things Mike asked for. He was being released from the hospital tomorrow and he asked her to pack him a bag. Paige looked over the stack of clothes on Mike's bed and went to his dresser to grab a pair of socks. She froze when she noticed the black velvet ring box that usually contained her ring. Paige picked up the box and opened it. She glanced at her hand, she should really put it back. It wasn't like she needed to wear it anymore. By now, the hospital staff recognized her and besides, Mike was getting released tomorrow. Then everything would go back to normal. Her ring would go back in the box and life would go on.

"Paige, you ready?" Charlie called from the hall.

Paige snapped the empty box shut and dropped it in the drawer before closing it. "Almost! I need a bag or something." She scurried across the room to his closet and grabbed a small duffle bag She debated grabbing one of her overnight bags, but it was just for a day. A duffle bag would work. Paige started packing up his things and looked up when Charlie entered the room.

"Got everything?"

Paige glanced at her list one more time and nodded. Mike asked for some files, but he didn't need to be working right now. "Yeah, just let me grab my laptop."

* * *

"I was thinking we could watch a movie," Paige said. She handed him the remote and situated her chair so it gave her a good view of the TV. "If there's nothing good on, I have my laptop." Paige offered him a small smile, "I won't even make you watch an old movie, you can choose."

"Why are you wearing your ring?" Mike blurted out. He should probably wait until he was out of the hospital to have this conversation. But if he waited any longer, they would fall into their usual habit of ignoring a conversation they should be having and the next thing he knew, it would be months later and they'd be in the same place.

A week ago, he was fine with being friends with benefits. But everything changed and she had been by his side non-stop, crossing every line they carefully created.

"My ring?" Paige asked and guiltily looked at her hand. "I - I wanted to get medical information and I'm not technically family. If it bothers you, I'll take it off. You know, I should probably let you get some rest. I'll be by to pick you up tomorrow. Or I can send Charlie, if you want." Paige blinked back tears and stood up.

"Don't put words in my mouth." He wasn't going to let her run away this time. "Paige, wait. We're federal agents and your badge allows you to stay up to date with my condition, but you've been by my side constantly. Don't think I don't appreciate that, because I do. I - I need you."

Paige watched him a few seconds before answering. "When Johnny called me and told me that you'd been hurt, I felt like my whole world stopped. Then when I got here, the doctors weren't sure about anything. I was so scared," Paige quietly said, her voice was so low it was barely above a whisper. "All I could do was wait while they figured out what to do next. When you finished your tests, I wanted to sit with you, but the nurse said I couldn't. So I lied and told him I was your fiancée and he said I could stay. If you don't want me here, I - "

"No, I don't want you to go. That's just it Paige - what I want - I want to know, Paige what does this mean? We can't keep doing this. We can't keep dancing around this thing between us. If you want to be together, let's be together. You told me to tell you if things changed. This is me telling you that things changed for me. I'm not going to pretend that you're just some girl I hook up with occasionally. You're more than that to me. You mean so much more to me. You mean everything to me."

He wasn't sure when things changed for him. If it was when he was sneaking out of her bedroom in the middle of the night, so things didn't get more complicated. Or when she flashed a smile at him the other day when they were playing volleyball on the beach and his heart stopped. Or when she accidentally fell asleep in his room a few weeks ago and when he woke up and her face was the first thing he saw.

His eyes followed Paige as she stood up and walked across the room to stare out the window.

Mike's shoulders slumped as reality started to set in. This was it. This was her shutting him out. He handed Paige his heart and she was thinking of a way to let him down easy.

From the moment he met Paige, he knew how special she was. Knew how great they could be together. But they had gotten in their own way, more times than he could count. It wasn't just her fault. He was as much to blame as she was. The months they were together were some of the best of his life. Even though things hadn't turned out how he wanted, he didn't regret a second he spent with her.

As for this past year, things had gotten messy again. But they finally figured out something that worked for both of them. He knew it wouldn't last forever, but if he couldn't be with her, their arrangement had to end. It was selfish, but he couldn't do it. Not anymore.

Paige turned around and leaned against the windowsill. "I was wrong. When we broke up, I was wrong. I didn't want to lose myself with you, but I'm lost without you. I was afraid that we wasted all of our chances and any chance of a future. Not knowing who I am without you used to scare me. Now, I can only be me with you." Paige held out her hand and turned it so he could see her wearing the ring. "This ring looks really good on me."

Mike looked at her curiously, his eyes hopeful. "Like it belongs there."

"Feels like it too."

"Are you proposing because we're not even dating and when we got back together, I wanted to be the one to ask. I wanted to do it up big. Rose petals everywhere and I don't even care if you make fun of me to our kids one day. I want hundreds of candles on the beach." Things were moving faster than he thought they would, but somehow it felt right. They always did things the hard way. It made sense that they would get engaged even if they weren't dating.

"You mean you're not going to run into a bar when I'm talking to another guy and pull out a ring?" Paige teased.

"I tried that once, it didn't work. But I did have really hot sex that night."

"Mind blowing," Paige reminded him, leaning closer to kiss him.

Mike relaxed as Paige's lips brushed over his. "We're really doing this? Are we engaged? You didn't really ask. I just want to be clear about this. And if you're not asking then I'm definitely - "

Paige cut him off with a kiss. "Yes, we're doing this. Stop talking."

"Come here," Mike said, sliding over in the bed to make room for Paige.

Paige arched an eyebrow. "Don't even think about it," Paige warned. "We are not fooling around in your hospital room!"

"I'm wounded!"

Paige flushed slightly and mumbled an apology before climbing in bed next to him. All the anxiety she had about impulsively proposing started to fade away once she settled in Mike's arms. She didn't even want to think about what they were going to tell their parents. Charlie would probably throw them a party and if Johnny mentioned celebrating with strippers she was going to kill him. Paige brushed her lips over Mike's in a chaste kiss. She looked at her hand and laughed, when she thought about how she and Mike got to this place. A diamond ring from a case that kept pushing them together, offering them the perfect excuse to be together when they were both too scared to start things up again. For too long she had been afraid to put herself out there. Afraid to make herself vulnerable if what she wanted wasn't what Mike wanted. But the possibility of not having a future made her realize they weren't invincible.

"Do you think we're crazy? A week ago we weren't dating and now we're engaged?" Paige asked.

"Maybe," Mike said. "All I know is that I'm crazy about you."

Paige groaned at his sappy line. "I don't even know why I agreed to marry you."

"I'm the one that agreed to marry you," Mike pointed out. "Maybe you're right, maybe we should slow down."

Paige eyed Mike carefully trying to figure out what he meant. He wasn't turning her down, but maybe they were moving too fast. She took a deep breath, it wasn't like they were getting married tomorrow. They could have a long engagement.

Paige sighed as she reached for his hand, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Mike laced their fingers together and smiled at her.

"I don't know. For being so - I don't know - stubborn."

Mike shook his head and brought their joined hands to his lips and lightly kissed hers. "Don't apologize. I love that you're stubborn even when it drives me crazy. You were honest with me."

"Not always."

"I didn't push you to talk."

"I love that, but it drives me crazy," Paige said. "You're just as stubborn as I am!"

"We're gonna drive each other crazy and make mistakes, but promise me something."

Paige tensed up not sure what Mike was going to ask her. Even though she was the one that suggested they get married, she wasn't ready to get married tomorrow. "What?"

"That you talk to me. Always. Even if you think it's something I don't want to hear, just tell me."

Paige nodded, "If you do the same." Opening up to Mike wasn't something that came easy to her. It was something she was still learning to do. But if they were really going to make things work this time around, they had to have those difficult conversations she would rather avoid. And Mike being Mike, usually let her. They couldn't do that anymore.

"Promise." Mike twisted her ring off and kissed her as he slipped it back on.

"Don't scare me like that again."

"I'll try."

"Good."

Paige kissed his cheek and Mike's eyes filled with confusion when she whispered something in Russian in his ear. "I know that doesn't mean tonight or now."

"Always."

Paige repeated the word a few times and he practiced a few times before she sweetly kissed him. "Always."

THE END


End file.
